When it comes to staying warm, and healthy, there are some things you should have done before the cold weathers of winter (or late autumn) came rolling in. It’s important to do these things every single year, for at least a couple reasons. One being your health, and the other might be saving you some money on your gas and electric bills.
Even if you’re a little behind on doing these things it’s not too late. Winter lasts a few months, and as long as your family hasn’t been suffering any strange headaches or illnesses then you are probably in good luck.
Get Your Heater Serviced
It can be a life saver, literally, to get your heater checked out before it’s time to start running it on a regular basis. There are a few things that can go wrong with a heater, the least of which is when it simply isn’t working on a cold day.
Carbon monoxide can kill, and faulty heaters can put this toxic gas into the air. Making sure that your heater is running properly and doesn’t have any broken parts or gauges is one way to make sure that you and your family are some from carbon monoxide poisoning. Headaches, nausea, and vomiting are just a few of the possible signs of this type of poisoning.
Clean Vents And Filters
Making sure the filters on your heater and the vents that transport heat through your home are clean not only helps heat your home more efficiently, but it also helps lower the amount of allergens being pushed through the air in your home. Dust in filters and vents can even make the person with the most minimal of allergies start sneezing.
Check Your Detectors
Make sure that your home has working smoke detectors, radon detectors, and a working carbon monoxide detector as well. It could save your life. While you can protect your family with radon testing all year round, your smoke detector could be of extra assistance during the winter with all of the extra holiday baking going on and all those Christmas lights plugged in. If you do not have one of these radon remediation systems, you may want to look into installing one before the winter months creep in.
The carbon monoxide detector will let you know if you have a faulty heater, but your home’s heater isn’t the only thing that can cause this type of poisoning. Running a generator in your home when dealing with power outages is dangerous, and so is heating your car up in the garage without the garage door open (and with the house door open, letting the carbon monoxide seep in your home).
Wash The Stored Blankets
Make sure that you also wash all of the blankets you drug out of storage to use during the winter. Not only might they be dusty, or possibly have some mildew on them, but you never know what may have been spending time living in them. Even if you don’t see any rodent traces when you unpack them that doesn’t mean they weren’t there!
