Important Safety Tips for Gas Furnaces

Natural gas furnaces are the most common type of heating system found in homes across the country. Although people sometimes worry about the safety of using a gas furnace, these models would not be so widespread if they regularly created hazards for homes and families. Modern gas furnaces have many special safety features to help them operate with little chance of danger.

However, gas furnaces can develop safety issues. If you have a natural gas furnace to warm your home, you’ll need to know some important information about how to ensure the heater runs at its safest. Below are several safety tips that will help you and your family enjoy a worry-free winter each year with your gas furnace.

Always arrange for annual maintenance

Professional maintenance is the essential task for keeping a furnace working effectively, efficiently, and safely. We recommend homeowners schedule maintenance each year, preferably in the fall before the cold weather arrives, because of the many benefits it provides—but safety is the best benefit of all. During maintenance, our technicians closely inspect a gas furnace to find anything that might create a hazard. This includes looking for cracks in the heat exchanger, leaks in the gas lines, or failing safety components. If you didn’t have maintenance this fall, it isn’t too late to arrange for it: it’s better to have it late than to skip it.

Call for heating repairs as soon as you notice anything wrong

Prompt heating repair in Colorado Springs, CO isn’t just to ensure that your house stays warm. It also protects you from potential dangers with the furnace. No matter how small the problem with the furnace might seem to you, it could mask a more serious issue that can lead to unsafe operating conditions. We offer 24-hour emergency service to respond fast and see you have a comfortable and safe home.

Keep the area around the furnace clear

Furnaces are usually located in basements or other areas of a home where people tend to store items. You don’t want to have any objects too close to the furnace, however. We recommend giving space of at least a foot on all sides of the furnace cabinet to avoid fires. Keep highly flammable items, such as paint thinner, located as distant from the furnace as possible.

Have CO detectors and regularly check them

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and highly toxic gas that can leak from a malfunctioning furnace and into the living spaces of a home. Because it’s so difficult to detect until it starts to cause health problems, homes need the special alerts of CO detectors. You must have these detectors located around your house if you use natural gas in any capacity. Test the detectors every six months to make sure they’re functioning properly and don’t need new batteries.

Regularly change the furnace filter

A clogged furnace filter can cause numerous troubles for a furnace, such as a drop in energy efficiency and a decline in airflow. A clogged filter can also cause a furnace to overheat and the debris in the filter may even catch on fire. We recommend changing the filter every 1 to 3 months.

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