Use These Furnace Safety Tips
If you own your home, you need to be aware of furnace safety. While most of the time your furnace is going to run normally, you only need one mechanical problem to put you and the other occupants of the house in danger. If you’re looking for ways to keep your house safer this winter, you should have your heater inspected by a professional furnace repair technician, and you should follow these important furnace safety tips.
Schedule Inspections
One of the most comprehensive ways of ensuring that your furnace is in good working condition is to get an inspection done regularly by a fully-trained furnace repair technician. You can visit localunitedservices.com/encinitas-ca to schedule an inspection or furnace repair services. If you schedule your inspection just before winter, you’ll be able to enjoy all the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your heater will work well for the coming season, saving you money. You’ll also love that you don’t have to worry about having a trained professional do the maintenance work because you won’t have to worry about them making mistakes that could make your furnace unsafe. Autumn is a good time to get your inspections done to find out of you will be needing a furnace repair service, but you should also keep records of the dates that you had your previous inspections completed and what was found during them. Keep them on a clipboard in your utility room so that you can look back on the dates and notes about what the technician found.
Store Flammable Materials Elsewhere
Flammable materials, such as paint thinner, are some of the most dangerous materials in your home. Never store flammable chemicals or other materials near your furnace, which has a flame that can light them on fire. Other materials that you should keep out of your utility closet where your furnace is located include gasoline, wood scraps, sawdust, rags, paint, and papers. If your furnace is located in the laundry room, you need to be very careful of where you hang your clothes, and cleaning solutions should be kept in airtight containers because some fumes can be flammable. You should also be especially careful of ammonia fumes.
Teach Children About Furnace Safety
If you have children, you know that they can get into almost anything. If you don’t take the time to teach your children about why they need to stay away from the furnace, you could have a very bad accident. Let them know that the area around the heater isn’t a good place to play because the grill can get very hot. You should also let them know that they need to keep their toys a certain distance from the furnace to avoid flammable materials nearby. If you begin to hear strange noises—banging, rattling, etc.—then that could mean that there’s something wrong with the furnace. If the noises don’t go away, get in touch with a professional at https://valleyservice.net/fargo-services/furnace-repair.
Keep Away Lint and Dust
Lint and dust are both flammable, and you have to remember to clean them up because they can both build up quickly over time. You should vacuum around the furnace every month to avoid a buildup of flammable materials, such as dust and lint. If you have a wall furnace, you should also clean inside the burner compartments. One way that you can tell that you might have a dirty burner area is if the flame is burning yellow or orange. The flame should always be burning blue, so if it’s not, you should visit www.onehourheatandair.com/lees-summit and call a professional.
Replace Your Filters
Changing out the filters according to the manufacturer’s recommendations is important. When you don’t replace the filters, you run an increased risk of fire hazards. A dirty filter will also cause problems with performance, and you and your family are more likely to have problems with allergies. The filter will eventually not be able to clean the air properly, so dust and other allergens will be recirculated into the air.
Install a Smoke Detector
You might have a smoke detector in the kitchen and think that’s good enough, but you should think again. If you have a home fire, even a couple of minutes can mean the difference between everyone being able to leave the house safely and someone getting trapped inside. This is especially true at night when people are sleeping, but furnace fires can happen at any time of day. This is why you should ensure that you have a working smoke detector in the same room where you keep your furnace.
When you’re trying to find a company to take care of your furnace problems, call Swanton Energy Services in Highlands, NJ. We can help you with your furnace, air conditioner, air quality, and other energy-related services.
