In the winter, you need to keep your home warm—not only for comfort but also for safety. When it comes to heating your home, you need to do it in a manner that is safe. Many heating devices can pose serious safety risks and cause very destructive fires. Cates Heating and Cooling wants to make sure that all homeowners are keeping warm in a safe manner this winter.

CENTRAL HEATING SAFETY

Most central heating devices are extremely safe. Gas furnaces use flammable fuel sources and an open flame, but they contain the fuel in a manner that is safe. Additionally, these furnaces are usually self-contained to prevent house fires.

Electric heating systems don’t use an open flame or flammable gasses, so they are viewed as the safest heating method available.

One common misconception that the technicians at Cates Heating and Cooling hear a lot is that customers are worried about their dampers being set correctly for safety. Dampers don’t have a right or wrong setting. They aren’t there for safety reasons; they are there for comfort. The right setting is whatever makes you the most comfortable. Our technicians recommend that you that you play with the settings to find what is the most comfortable. Once you know where you like them during each season, you can tell us how you want them set during our visits.

While central heating methods are generally considered very safe, fireplaces, spaces heaters, and wood burning stoves could cause fires. That’s why we have a few tips to keep your home and family safe.

ALTERNATIVE HEATING SAFETY TIPS

Alternative heating options include fireplaces, wood burning stoves, and space heaters.

Here are our fireplace safety tips:

• Dispose of fireplace ashes safely
• Crack the fireplace door
• Ensure proper airflow from the chimney
• Keep a safe space around the fireplace
• Use proper firewood
• Use only proper stoking and cleaning tools
• Get the chimney cleaned

Here are a few safety tips for wood burning stoves:

• Use only appropriate wood
• Leave space around the stove
• Get the stove’s chimney cleaned
• Crack a window nearby
• Don’t burn foreign materials in the stove

Here are some tips for safely operating space heaters:

• Turn off your space heater when you leave the room
• Unplug the heater when not in use
• Keep space around your space heater at all times
• Plug the space heater directly into the wall instead of using an extension cord
• Place space heaters on an even surface
• Only use space heaters with a timer when you are sleeping
• Inspect your space heater frequently
• Make sure cords are not frayed before use

Learn more with our space heater safety blog post.

Home heating safety is extremely important. Be sure to follow our basic safety tips to prevent fires in your home this winter. Learn more with our heating safety blog post.

Space heaters are a great way to provide your home with extra heat when it is cold outside. However, space heaters are the second leading cause of house fires in the United States, so Cates Heating and Cooling thinks that it is very important to discuss space heater safety with homeowners.