With the holiday season upon us, we know you’re looking forward to celebrating with friends and family, but here at Parker & Sons, we want to make sure it’s a safe celebration!
So, before you start cookin’ up the Christmas turkey or firing up that fire pit, check out our holiday home heating safety tips:
- Make sure your smoke detector is in good working order. If anyone smokes inside your house, be especially aware of this.
- If you use space heaters, keep them away from flammable items like curtains and bedding. Also, avoid using extension cords when possible because they can overheat and cause a fire – the reason being that most extension cords can’t handle the amount of current coming through the space heater.
- Similarly, on the subject of fires, never leave your fireplace unattended. Things can go south faster than you’d think.
- The same thing is true of candles! We know there’s no better and more festive decoration than holiday candles, but not only do you need to make sure your candles are far away from anything flammable (at least a foot away), but you should also blow out your candles before leaving them for the day. We recommend going as far as setting a reminder on your phone. Just make sure you don’t forget!
- The best way to avoid fire hazards is to ensure you don’t connect too many lights when it comes to holiday lights. You should also make sure your strings of lights are organized and untangled and that there are no fraying wires. Any worn or damaged lights should be thrown away immediately – don’t risk it!
- If you have a real Christmas tree, you need to be very careful to put it a safe distance away from any of your space heaters or candles. Make sure you never leave lit candles too close to the tree!
- Make sure your furnace area is clear of anything flammable nearby. Also, change your furnace filter regularly to avoid even the slightest chance of a furnace malfunction that could lead to a fire. Be sure to get regular maintenance done on your furnace because, even though furnaces are safe and reliable machines, they do burn a flammable gas, after all!
If you are looking to get ahead of your home heating system maintinence, click here for some tips.
Now that you know these great safety tips be sure to share them with anyone you know. That way, you can make sure that the only thing that catches on fire, at most, is whichever Christmas dish you don’t like… just kidding! As always, feel free to call Parker & Sons for all of your home heating needs. We’ll keep your Phoenix or Tucson area home nice and cozy this season.