Today’s furnaces do an amazing job at simultaneously keeping our homes safe and warm. But just like any fuel-burning appliance, your furnace can develop problems that can lead to safety hazards in your home. To keep your home protected all season long, today, we’re providing you with six furnace safety tips to keep in mind this winter!
6 furnace safety tips to keep in mind this winter
- Schedule your annual tune-up. One of the most important aspects of an annual furnace tune-up is where a serviceperson checks to ensure that your system is running safely. During your tune-up, he or she will look for any problems like a cracked heat exchanger or frayed electrical wires that could lead to safety hazards in your home. That’s why a tune-up is essential if you want to have the peace-of-mind that your furnace will run all winter safely long!
- Test your carbon monoxide detectors. A carbon monoxide leak is one of the biggest safety threats that a malfunctioning furnace can pose to your home. That’s why it’s important to check that all of your home’s carbon monoxide detectors are working properly. Be sure to test all of the detectors in your home and install a fresh pair of batteries in each unit.
- Test your smoke alarms. Certain severe furnace problems can lead to fire hazards, which is why this is the time of year that you should also be checking your home’s smoke alarms. Just like with your CO detectors, test all of the smoke alarms in your home, and install a fresh pair of batteries in each unit.
- Keep the area around your furnace clear. You can help minimize the chance of fire hazards from your furnace by keeping the area around your system clear. Although you should avoid storing anything near your furnace, this is especially true for any flammable products or materials.
- Change your air filter when it’s dirty. A dirty air filter will restrict airflow to your furnace, which will overwork your system and potentially increase the risk of a carbon monoxide leak. Also, a dirty filter will allow dirt to build upon your furnace’s components, which can cause several efficiencies, performance, and safety issues. That’s why it’s important to check and/or change your filter once a month this winter.