Cold Weather & Home Issues in Houston, TX
During the current cold weather conditions and home issues in Houston, I would like to share safety tips for using your fireplace in your home and information on Carbon Monoxide and smoke detector use and maintenance.
Please review the tips and share them with your family and friends.
Fireplace Safety
Be sure the damper or flue is open before starting a fire. Keeping the damper or flue open until the fire is out will draw smoke out of the house. The damper can be checked by looking up into the chimney with a flashlight or mirror. Do not close the damper until the embers have completely stopped burning.
Use dry and well-aged wood. Wet or green wood causes more smoke and contributes to soot buildup in the chimney. Dried wood burns with less smoke and burns more evenly,
Smaller pieces of wood placed on a grate burn faster and produce less smoke.
Clean out ashes from previous fires. Keep ash levels in the fireplace to 1 inch or less because a thicker layer restricts the air supply to logs, resulting in more smoke.
The chimney should be checked annually by a professional. Even if the chimney is not due for a cleaning, it is essential to check for animal nests or other blockages that could prevent smoke from escaping.
Minimize your child's chance of burns from the hot glass front of some fireplaces, including gas fireplaces. Install safety screens to reduce the risk of burns.
Ensure the area around the fireplace is clear of anything potentially flammable (i.e., furniture, drapes, newspapers, books, etc.). If these items get too close to the fireplace, they could catch fire.
Never leave a fire in the fireplace unattended. Make sure it is completely out before going to bed or leaving the house. If you leave the room while the fire is burning or the fireplace is still hot, take your small child with you.
Put fireplace tools and accessories out of a young child's reach. Also, remove any lighters and matches.
Keep a fire extinguisher on hand.
Talk with children as early as possible about the dangers of fires and the heat coming from them.
If you have a gas fireplace, but no electricity, you might need to use the “manual” controller under the fireplace to light it. Your manual controller will need D or C batteries. You only want batteries in the manual controller while the power is out. Otherwise, the batteries may corrode the controller over time. If you have never used it before, you may need to clean the leads with rubbing alcohol.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Smoke Detectors:
Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion. The less complete the burning (combustion), the more carbon monoxide is generated. Gas water heaters, gas and oil furnaces, fireplaces, and wood stoves/fireplaces all generate carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is deadly because it tricks the body into thinking it is oxygen. CO is known as the invisible killer since you cannot smell it.
As a minimum, each home should have one CO detector on each floor, one in or just outside each sleeping area, and one in the basement.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends homes should have smoke detectors installed inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the house, including the basement. So that means a 2-story, 3-bedroom home needs a minimum of five smoke alarms.
You should test both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors monthly by pushing the test button on the unit. The alarm should sound. If it does not alarm, replace the unit.
Change the backup batteries twice per year. An excellent way to remember to change the batteries is to do it simultaneously when you are changing clocks for daylight savings time.
After a prolonged power outage, you should change the backup batteries.
Replace smoke detectors every ten years, and carbon monoxide detectors replaced every 5 to 7 years. You can purchase a combined detector for smoke and carbon monoxide.