How Not to Burn Down Your House with a Space Heater

November 23, 2021

With winter well underway, your home may not be as warm as you'd want, particularly if you have draughty rooms and cold flooring. The best way to effectively get a comfortable temperature inside your house is by turning on your heating appliances. Today there are a variety of heaters and heating applications that are being used for both industrial well as residential purposes. However, operating these appliances isn't always easy, and poorly setting them up might lead to disaster. From industrial electrical heaters to residential space heaters, there are always chances of electrical fire when these heaters are not set up properly.

In this article we will discuss how not to burn down an hour house with a space heater, so continue reading it further.

1. Leaving a space heater unattended

The most common blunder made by homeowners is plugging in a heater and then leaving the room. Leaving a space heater alone could result in a fire if there's an electrical problem with the circuit or the cable or another issue that involves electricity, water, and heating elements. If you're leaving a room with space heating on then there are always the chances of electrical fire so please turn it off first before leaving the room.

2. Keep It Away From Water

This should go without saying, but the combination of electricity and water is much more deadly than orange juice and toothpaste. Keep your space heater away from bathrooms and kitchens.

Of course, you know not to mix water and electricity, so don't even think about using a space heater to warm up your bathroom on a chilly winter morning. The same applies to using these equipment in the kitchen—getting them too close to a sink, dishwasher, or other water source is simply too dangerous.

3. Avoid Flammable Objects, Too

The "three-foot rule," as defined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is simple: don't put a space heater within three feet of anything flammable. Curtains, papers, furniture, cushions, and bedding are all listed as items to avoid in some guides. Further measures, such as storing combustible objects such as paint and matches far away, are recommended by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. If there's even a remote chance that a pillow or other flammable object will fall on the space heater, such as during an earthquake, place it somewhere it won't be hit.

4. Buying an old space heater without the latest safety features

A good space heater with a sticker from a testing lab or a safety group is essential. (Keep an eye out for the letters UL, which stand for Underwriters Laboratories.). The best heaters are the most recent models with the most up-to-date safety features, such as an automatic shut-off if the unit tips over. Older versions, as well as anything you get at a yard sale, might not have the most up-to-date safety features.

5. Plugging a space heater into an overloaded circuit

Have you ever tripped a breaker by overloading an outlet? Using a space heater for this is also a no-no. Because these products use a lot of electricity and can easily trip your home circuits, so be sure each heater is plugged into a single circuit.

Also, avoid reaching for power strips or extension cords.

Space heaters must be plugged directly into a wall outlet since cords and strips might overheat and provide a fire danger.