All About Heaters

With winter fast approaching, it is a good time to refresh yourself on electric heater safety tips, as well as to go over them with your children or other people in your home or working environment.

There are over half a million home fires reported yearly, in the United States alone. Of course, not all fires result in major property damage, but even a little bit of property damage is often too much–in terms of having to pay for repairs or reconstruction. About 25% of fires, however, actually cause considerable damage meaning that they engulf one whole room of the house or more. This 25% of fires are the ones that cause loss of life, severe burning and major destruction of property.

While not all fires are caused by misuse or not following safety instructions when using household appliances, many are, with heaters being a major player.

• Rule #1:  Read the instruction manual before you plug in and use your electric radiator heater, and make sure you demonstrate to others the safe use of the electric heater, or have all others who will be using the heater read the instructions.
• Rule #2: Unplug the heater when its not in use, and never leave an unattended heater on alone in a room.  Anything could happen while you were gone.
• Rule #3: Plug your electric heater directly into the wall socket, not into an extension cord.  Many extension cords have been known to overheat, and then cause a fire.
• Rule #4: Don’t hide cords under rugs or have any heavy furniture on top of it. Even though cords are a bit unsightly, hiding the cord can mean hiding a damaged cord. Damaged cords can start first.  Also, placing anything heavy on top of the cord can also damage it.
• Rule #5: Make sure the heater is not placed against anything, especially anything that could be likely to catch on fire such as clothing or material, or any flammable material.  The safest range is to make sure that there is 3 feet of space surrounding the heater on all sides. This also applies to not drying clothing or other items in front of an electric heater–it is just too easy for things to catch fire this way.
• Rule #6:   Be careful of water.  Electric heaters should not generally be used in bathrooms, or in any room where it is likely to come in touch with water, or damp areas of the house.
• Rule #7: Don’t use a heater with a damaged cord.  Don’t plug anything else into the outlet your heater is plugged into, and make sure you check your heater’s plug often to make sure it’s still in good condition.
• Rule #8: Keep your electric heater away from children, and make sure that you don’t leave a heater on in a room with an untended or sleeping child, for example in a child’s bedroom while he is sleeping.
• Rule #9:  Keep your heater on a flat surface, generally this should be the floor unless your heater is specifically made to sit on a table top.

If you are careful to follow these rules, and you take good care of your electric heater, including portable heaters and infrared heaters, you really shouldn’t have any problems with it.  Happy heating this cold winter!

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