GREENSBORO, N.C. — As temperatures plunge this weekend, a lot of folks will be turning on their heaters for the first time in a while. But before you do, there are 6 easy steps to take today to make sure it will work right when you need it in a couple of days.
6. Check your furnace's filter. They can get dusty when not in use and might need to be changed before you fire up your unit.
5. Clear anything that's in front of the vents. When they are covered or even partially blocked, your heating system won't work as well.
4. Slowly start transiting to the heater today. From now until this weekend, keep raising up your AC a few degrees at a time, so it's not a big shock to your system when you crank on the heater.
3. Check your carbon monoxide alarm. Heaters are one of the biggest causes of the odorless killer - so you'll want to make sure the alarms are still working.
2. Change your ceiling fans to turn clockwise. That will draw the warm air from the ceiling and spread it throughout the room.
1. If you're using a space heater, never plug it into an extension cord. It draws too much power and could start a fire. Space heaters always need to be plugged directly into the wall.
“If you are using a space heater to stay warm at night we always encourage you to shut the door to that room that you're in just so that space heater may not need to run quite as long,” said Ryan Chambers, of the Gibsonville Fire Department.
Space heaters are linked to more than 25,000+ house fires every year, resulting in more than 300 deaths in the United States.