Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter

Every year over 20,000 people go to the emergency room due to carbon monoxide poisoning. This colorless, odorless gas is known as the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector. 

Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is produced by gas ranges, furnaces, fireplaces, stoves, and boilers so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning increases during the winter months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep you safe, Rolf Griffin Service Experts is here with a few tips to safety warm your home. 

• Place a CO detector on every floor of your home and swap out the batteries annually. 
• Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, at least three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces. 

• Before starting a fire in the fireplace, always check to ensure the chimney damper is open and unobstructed. 
• Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Power off space heaters and make sure all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before going to bed or leaving home. 
• Space heaters should always be positioned on the floor, and on a hard, incombustible surface, like ceramic tile. Keep children and pets away from space heaters. 
• When buying a new space heater, purchase a model that powers off automatically if the heater falls over. 
• Don’t use a cooking range to heat your home. 

• Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally inspected and cleaned every year. 

The best thing you can do for your furnace is to make sure it’s not only ready to keep you warm all winter but also safe, is to set-up your heating tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Rolf Griffin Service Experts will check to make sure your furnace is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 260-557-1275 today and learn how you can save on a heating tune-up through November 25th.