Safety Tips for Homeowners Using a Space Heater
If you’ve noticed that one of the rooms in your home just isn’t getting warm enough in the wintertime, you may want to consider investing in a space heater. This device allows you to create heat in a specific room of your home without having to change the thermostat on your central heating system. To ensure that your home and family stay safe while using a space heater, you’ll want to follow the safety tips that we’re going to go over below.
Leave It on the Floor
It may be tempting to put a space heater up on top of a cabinet or your corner table so that it blows hot air directly at you. However, it’s best to resist this urge as the space heater should be left on the floor. This allows it to produce heat that will naturally rise in the room.
Putting your space heater on any surface other than an uncarpeted floor can result in a fire due to overheating. Never place your space heater on furniture, cabinets or even tables. Always restrict it to a hardwood, vinyl or laminate floor.
Keep It Away From Water
Water and electricity can be hazardous when mixed together. For this reason, it’s crucial that you only place space heaters in areas that they will not come into contact with water. For example, do not put your space heater in a basement that is prone to flooding. You also want to keep it away from your wet rooms like your bathrooms and kitchen.
Give It Three Feet of Space
When your space heater is working, it can get very hot. Having it close to any flammable substance can cause that material to catch fire. This is why it’s so important that you establish an empty three-foot area around the space heater. That means positioning it away from books, furniture, curtains, bedding and pillows.
Don’t Let Your Space Heater Run Unattended
An absolutely necessary rule to follow is that your space heater should never be running when it’s unattended. This is the best way to help prevent a fire from breaking out because of the space heater overheating. Whenever you’re running it, you should be in the room where it’s in use. Never have your space heater running when you’re sleeping. Also, you’ll want to avoid leaving your space heater plugged in if it runs off of a thermostat. You don’t want it kicking on when you’re not at home.
Don’t Use a Power Strip
With the number of electronics that most homes have these days, it can be very easy to run out of space to plug in your space heater. Your first instinct may be to grab the power strip. However, you should avoid doing so. You never want to plug a space heater into an extension cord or power strip. It could cause either of these items to overheat and catch fire.
When plugging your space heater into a wall outlet, you should ensure that there’s nothing else plugged into the outlet. Due to the amount of energy needed by a space heater, using the same outlet for the space heater and another electronic device can cause the circuit to overload.
Buy a Heater With Safety Features
Some of the most common dangers associated with space heaters can be avoided if you purchase one that has newer safety features included. An absolute must-have safety feature is overheating protection. This will shut the unit off if it senses that it has become too hot. Another excellent safety feature is tip-over protection that will automatically shut off your unit if it senses that the device isn’t level.
Inspect Your Heater Often
Whenever you use your space heater, you should inspect it to determine that it hasn’t sustained any damage. You’ll want to check the wiring to ensure that none of it is frayed or exposed. Next, you’ll want to look over the actual housing of the unit for cracks. If you notice any problems with the housing or wiring of your device, it’s best to get it fixed or replace the unit.
Trustworthy Heating Services
Reed Service Company offers trustworthy heating and cooling services to the entire region around Beaumont, TX. That includes, installation, maintenance and repair. We’re also happy to handle all of your boiler, geothermal, indoor air quality, HVAC design and commercial HVAC needs. Give us a call today to schedule your next service appointment with our skilled technicians.