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Gas Heaters And Safety
Winter calls for warm rooms every year, requiring you to install heaters at home. As the saying goes, with every necessity comes the solution. The most common heating system options on the market are electric and gas heaters. Now, if you want to switch from using so many electric appliances at home and go with a gas heater, there are certain things you need to be aware of first. One of them is safety.
If you plan on adding a gas heater to your home, but do not know if it is safe, don’t worry! This article will help to answer all your questions about gas heaters and their indoor usage.
Are Gas Heaters Safe For Indoor Use?
Of course, gas heaters are safe for indoor use – but only when you play your part well while using them. All you need to do is be mindful of all the gas heater safety tips and follow them carefully. If you do so, there will be no harm in your way. One way to make your gas heater safe at all times is by ensuring your gas heater apparatus (i.e., cylinder) is duly checked and adequately maintained from time to time.
What Is An Unflued Gas Heater?
An unflued gas heater is a type of heating appliance with no flue or chimney to carry the burnt products out after it burns gas to produce heat. The gases given off by it are all pollutants that fill up the air all around. In addition to gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, the heater also produces water vapor. While the gases affect health directly, this water vapour brings indirect damage to your health and safety.
Such types of heaters should not be used indoors. They are extremely hazardous because their use causes severe respiratory problems like breathlessness, coughing, and respiratory infections. Most significantly, asthma patients should be kept away from unflued gas heating appliances. The alternatives to be used instead of an unflued gas heater are:
- Flued gas heaters: Gas heaters that have some way of sending the combustion remains out of the building (i.e., chimney or flue pipe).
- Central heating system (a simple system used to warm up a building fixed inside the walls or floors).
Safety Measures For Indoor Use Of Gas Heaters
You should follow specific guidelines as safety precautions while using gas heaters indoors. Otherwise, there may be hazardous consequences that no one, including you, would like to witness. Some of these safety measures are listed and explained below.
Doing a Safety Pre-Check
So it’s finally winter, and you want to operate your gas heater for warmth. Well, go on, but not before a proper and professional checkup. There are several reasons for that. You tend to switch it on without thinking of the consequences, which can be harmful in many ways. The first thing to check in a gas heater when using it after a long time is for a gas leak anywhere.
If you find any leaking sign, deal with it first. Next, after being in no use for so long, heat appliances get covered with dust so heavy that once you operate them, the dust also burns along and spreads an unpleasant smell all around. So, it is better to get rid of all the dust properly before switching on the heater. Moreover, be mindful of any broken or damaged gas pipes, and do check the gas supply also – you can keep an eye on it through the meter of the device.
When all is done on your side, call for an actual professional to check on the gas appliance properly. This is because there is only so much you can inspect by yourself. A professional is better equipped to identify and handle a gas leak or any other issues that may have come up. In addition to all this, it would be in your best interest to have a yearly maintenance, just for the sake of ensuring safety.
Using the Right Gas Heater
While gas heaters are pretty simple, the basic requirement is to use the right one at the right place. When you need it indoors, never use an outdoor heater – not even in an emergency. Outdoor gas heaters are for outdoor use only. Bringing them inside can cause sudden combustions and large flames due to limited ventilation and no restriction to the production of gases, i.e., nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, etc., which can result in an actual house fire.
Furthermore, the gases that outdoor gas heaters give off cause specific health issues. Specifically, one can get carbon monoxide poisoning from the gas released by the heater. So, whether you are using an outdoor gas heater inside your house or an indoor gas heater, do not waste time switching off the gas appliance if you feel the following symptoms:
- Dizziness
- Breathlessness
- Chest pain
- Nausea
- Headache
- Flu and itchy nose
You may consider indoor gas heaters safe in comparison to outdoor gas heaters, but any appliance can get faulty anytime, and that may happen to indoor heating appliances too. The above-given symptoms indicate your indoor heating appliance is defective. Therefore, to avoid and deal with such conditions in the future, your gas appliances should be installed by professional and registered installers.
Keeping Distance From the Appliance
No matter how much you love the warmth in winter, it is not advisable to sit next to heaters. You have to stay away from close range. Also, avoid using any kind of chemicals that are flammable when you are near the heater. When the heating appliance is in use, do not forget to keep your eyes on your children too.
Because children have curious and carefree minds, they might not understand the consequences of being playful near such appliances. Therefore, it falls in your hands to make sure that no kid gets within the range of the gas heater. So, never leave your kids unmonitored while the heating appliance is on. Otherwise, burnt fingers are the least that could happen; much more harm can come your way.
Along with adults and children, make sure to keep any flammable objects like books, furniture, clothes, drapes, and boxes away from the running heaters too. If any of these are left near the heating appliance, it may catch fire at any moment and cause destruction in no more than a minute.
Using the Gas Heater Carefully
When you use a gas heater, be careful about lighting it with the matchstick or lighter first, and then move on to turning on the gas supply. Similarly, when you turn it off, make sure you turn off the gas from the cylinder first and then switch off the heater.
Moreover, if you plan to move the gas heater from one place to another, do not just get on with it directly. First, switch it off and wait until it cools down before placing it anywhere. Keep in mind that your heating appliance is not your dryer. So, avoid using your gas heater to dry clothes, as they can easily catch fire too. Anything that covers the heater causes restriction of ventilation, and that leads to flames and fires. Indoor gas heaters should be used in areas near windows or balconies so that harmful gases like carbon monoxide can move out through the open window.
Consider this a necessary precaution, and do not ignore it while using your heating appliance. Never extend the heater’s hoses and power cords from one room to another, even if portable. It might be harmful because while crossing over through adjacent rooms, you may trip over the hoses and fall and bring along the gas heater, too – the fire spread can be unavoidable in that case.
Another scenario might be that a door may close accidentally and cause a leak in the hose without you knowing about it. It would fill up the surrounding air with harmful air again. As no one would want that, it is better to keep the gas heater in one room only along with its power cord and hose to be appropriately monitored.
Never Leave Your Gas Heater Unattended
Leaving your heating appliance unattended should never be an option. It is the most dangerous situation you could probably put yourself in. If you leave it on overnight while you go to sleep, you may never wake up to another charming morning. Leaving a gas appliance on throughout the night is extremely dangerous; what if it catches fire?
What if the heater’s flame goes off and the gas spreads into the air – the super harmful gas? Such scenarios result in fatal incidents. That’s why, if you want to keep yourself and your home safe from the dangers of gas heaters, it would be better to monitor your device and never leave it unattended.
However, this problem also has a more straightforward solution: buy yourself a heater with a self-timer. You can probably leave it overnight and sleep peacefully after setting the timer if you do so. It will make the heater turn off automatically, and you won’t have to worry about choking in the middle of the night (yes, yes, it sounds a bit extreme, but better safe than sorry).
What To Do When You Notice An Unusual Gas Smell
- First of all, do not light up any flames or sparks when you smell gas at home, neither matchstick nor lighter and cigarette. They might cause a fire incident if the gas has already spread a lot.
- Make sure to turn the gas off very carefully, and do not turn it on until the area is clear and a gas technician has checked it.
- Refrain from switching on the lights, turning on any appliances, or even using the telephone.
- Open up all the doors, windows, and balcony areas. It would help to get rid of the gases in the air inside and bring in the fresh air.
- An important guideline here is never to use an electric fan to get rid of the air inside, not even an exhaust fan.
- Inhaling the air full of such foul gases can also be a threat to health. So, try staying away from the toxic air until the gas completely dissipates.
- Contact a qualified gas fitter to deal with everything because involving a professional is always wise to do in these situations.
- Never play around with the gas heater on your own. It may lead to dangerous results. Always involve a gas technician who knows what to do.
The Perfect Solution For Utmost Safety
If you are too concerned about the safety of your loved ones regarding gas appliances, the perfect solution for you is to have fire alarms installed at home. No one can stop fire incidents, but necessary precautions, i.e., setting up a fire alarm, can help avoid much damage and harm.
You just need to invest in these alarms once, and all the detection work is for them to do then. If there are any smoke particles or even the slightest hint of fire in the air, the fire alarm will detect it, go off, and warn you about the threat of an incident before it gets out of hand.
The wise move would be to install it in the same room where you usually use the gas heater so that the safety alert goes off as soon as there is a risk of danger. You should also ensure you have regular gas heater maintenance by a professional to prevent problems in the long run.
