When you live in a warm climate it is easy to forget that the temperature may dip a little across the colder, winter, months and your heating system will require regular maintenance and cleaning so that it runs efficiently when you need it. Home heating by using your HVAC system and perhaps, portable heaters, should be regularly serviced to ensure the safety of you and your family.
Safety Begins with Your Smoke Detector
Depending upon the size of your property, you may have more than one smoke detector, installed for the safety of your family. The cost of safety is perhaps just to change your batteries twice a year.
Home heating systems, when they remain uncleaned and not regularly maintained, can be a source of accident, leading to a fire in your property and this begins with your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide units.
Check Your Portable Heaters Regularly
Portable heaters can be operated from paraffin, oil or diesel. It is essential that they are turned off and left safely when you exit a room a room for a long time, or when going to bed. You will be wasting money heating a room that you have left and added a potential fire hazard to your property while you sleep.
Do You Have a Chimney on Your Property?
Forgetting that you have a chimney on your property is quite easy when the weather around your home is warm most of the year, perhaps falling chilly a little late at night, or during the coldest months.
Your chimney should be cleaned at least once a year because wildlife may decide to build a nest in your chimney during the warmer months. What becomes their home may cause a blockage in your heating system and when you apply heat, you may end up with a fire.
Are Your Vents and Furnaces Clean?
Some properties operate a furnace at different times of the year. They can be used to provide heating when you need to top up the warmth in your property, but they can also become a storage facility for items you wish to burn on a later occasion.
Where they are used for your home heating, your furnace should be professionally cleaned and checked at least once a year, preferably just before you intend to use it regularly. Your heating engineer will check that the system is working correctly and replace any necessary parts.
Any airways that are blocked can quickly turn a small excessive heat into a fire. It can become standard practice for you and your family to keep flammable items away from all your heating equipment, including your HVAC system.
The key to any satisfactory home heating system is to look after it, have it maintained regularly and replace any parts, where necessary.
