Gas Heaters-Are Your Home Heaters Safe From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

Are your gas heaters keeping you and the family nice and warm in the freezing cold winter months? You probably would be using your space heaters, water heaters, indoor propane gas heaters, gas fireplace heaters, gas furnace and enjoying the use of each one of them. But have you wondered if they are as safe as you first purchased them some time ago? Now may be a good time as any to re-evaluate if your home heating system is safe to use and what you can do if you found some defects in any of these appliances which may compromise safety if you continued to use them.

What Causes Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

In normal circumstances, when you used your gas heaters and do regular maintenance, the amount of gas produced for the burning is quite small and by itself is perfectly safe to use. However with prolonged usage over time and if any of these home heaters and other appliances are neglected, with poor or no maintenance, that is where things can go wrong. That is when incomplete combustion of the fuel like gas, kerosene, charcoal or wood shows its ugly side. This may happen and as a result carbon monoxide make starts to be produced. Unfortunately prolonged exposure to this gas, which is colorless, and odorless can become deadly often without showing any visible symptoms.

What are the Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning? 

When someone gets overexposure to carbon monoxide gas, the most symptoms are likely to be headaches, chest discomfort, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. He should immediately consult a doctor as overexposure of this gas may be fatal.

Are Your Gas Heaters Defective? Some Precautions You Can Take

When you own your home heaters, either gas or electric, you as the home owner have to take some responsibility - to ensure that they continue to run not only efficiently but more importantly safely for your family. Some of these gas heaters and other heating appliances are used only during the cold winter months. So it is advisable that such appliances be given a routine check by a qualified technician. These technicians have been trained to inspect all gas connections, burner combustion, the gas pressure among other things. It is important to note however that as your appliances age with time they may also deteriorate in efficiency and pose a danger to your family members living in the home.

For home heaters like indoor propane heaters, garage heaters, and other fuel burning heaters, it is advisable to invest in a good carbon monoxide detector to give you some peace of mind while using them. Just place any of these detectors on every floor of your home which has these heating appliances.

Simple Safety Tips To Make Your Home Gas Heaters Safe

• If you're thinking of buying a fireplace choose a gas fireplace and don't use kerosene or charcoal. It's always best to avoid them especially in an enclosed space like your garage or porch. Never think of using a gas stove or an oven to try to generate heat for your house.
• Purchase and install a good carbon monoxide detector that comes with a good back-up system. If you lived in a very big house, you may need more than one such detector for such protection.
• If you used a generator including portable ones for the purpose of providing an emergency backup power source for any of your heating solutions, make sure you keep it outside the house and not inside an enclosed area like your garage or your basement.
• Avoid home heaters that do not use a flame for burning but as long as it burns gas it will produce hazardous carbon monoxide build-up over time.
• Ensure that your chimneys are regularly checked and they are never blocked with the usual debris as it can help carbon monoxide to accumulate.