Using Alternative Heat Safely

When talking to a friend the other day, she was telling me about a neighbor or hers that is using alternative heating sources from here on out to avoid the rising cost of propane. Their current propane tank is completely empty and they are a family of 5.

I am all for saving money… I mean who isn’t right? Having a family of 5 myself, I am willing to make a few sacrifices to save on the budget, AS long as it doesn’t put my family or home risk that is! I have no reason to doubt that this family is not being safe, but I felt compelled to write this blog!

We are almost to the end of it friends, but with March still ahead of us I wanted to run over some basic tips for using alternative heating sources in your home (or office) safely.

Use Caution with portable space heaters – Heating equipment is the leading cause of fires during the winter months. About two-thirds of home heating fire deaths are caused by portable or fixed space heaters.
To prevent fire, place heaters at least three feet away from anything combustible, including wallpaper, bedding, clothing, pets and people.
Never leave space heaters operating when you are not in the room or when you go to bed. Don’t leave children or pets unattended near space heaters.
Drying wet mittens or other clothing over space heaters is a HUGE fire hazard
Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms are working properly and replace batteries as necessary.
Have your chimney connections and flues inspected by a professional (if you are in need of a professional chimney company and don’t know who to use, give us a call for a recommendation) and cleaned if necessary prior to the start of every heating season.
Use a sturdy fireplace screen when burning fires. Burn only wood – NEVER burn paper or pine boughs.
Do not use candles for lighting if the power goes out. Use flashlights only.
Always operate portable generators outdoors – never inside, including the basement or garage. Do not connect a generator directly to your home’s wiring, leave that work to a professional electrician and buy a generator designed for that purpose. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator. Connecting a cord from the generator to a point on the permanent wiring system and back-feeding power to your home is an unsafe method to supply a building with power.
Don’t overload your electrical outlets. Be Careful of extension cords that present hazardous walkways.

Prevent Frozen Pipes from Inconsistent Heat

A downfall of using alternative heat for your home also is inconsistency. With inconsistent heat in areas of your home you are at a higher risk to having pipes freeze. Here are just a few tips to help prevent frozen pipes when using alternative heat sources. (I have posted a few blogs recently on frozen pipes if you are looking for more information on this!)

Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage.
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals up and out of the reach of children.
When the temperature is very low outside, let the cold-water drip from faucets served by exposed pipes in exterior walls. Running water through the pipe (even a trickle) helps prevent pipes from freezing because the temperature of the water running through it is above freezing.
When using your furnace or alternative heat you should be careful not to let the temperature of your home get lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stay safe and warm fellow Minnesotans! Spring is almost in the air!!!

Many Blessings,

~Lisa

Blogger and multi-media/ Internet marketing for 24Restore

“24Restore came within an hour of our water damage to assess the problem and restore and reconstruct our kitchen and my office. Everyone from 24Restore was professional, kind and did an outstanding job of damage assessment and restoration.”

- Barbara R.

Your service was excellent. The young man was thorough and very dedicated to completing the job. He’s a good one. I would recommend your services to anyone who need them.

- Keith

Your team has been absolutely amazing, professional, sympathetic and wonderful. They took my mess and made it manageable as I shed a few tears, which they also consoled with empathy. At a time when we have floods and tornados city wide you responded within hours. Thank, I am impressed and I have passed the word on to many.

- Genie

Very good experience……everyone I dealt with through 24 Restore was very professional and very kind.

- Nancy

This note is a note of thanks and appreciation of the services provided…..we could even say our home looks better than before we incurred our water damage…Job well done!

- Jay and Susan

I don’t often take the time to write a follow up complimentary letter. However I was very impressed with 24 Restore and felt they went above and beyond to surpass expectations with WOW service. Thank you for the great service and great job that your team did to get my house back in shape.

- Jane

I have recommended them to many of my friends. They are the only service that I have ever used that always gets my stains out and that clean my carpets beautifully. I can’t say enough good thins about them

- Laura

Thank you for all the work put in to get out home……It would have been an impossible task for us to have accomplished in such a short time. We appreciate all that you have done for us! We are so grateful!

- Ken and Kathe

Yes. I appreciated the ability to funnel all activities thru a one-stop shop proved to be very valuable in a disaster project such as ours demo, construction and finish as well as work directly with insurance company. The team has been professional and those on site have been respectful of our home and schedule.

- Reed

Alex did a great job scheduling, coordinating, and keeping me informed. He made sure that everything was done in a timely manner. I always felt that my job was a priority. All the workmen did a great job and were very polite. I am pleased with the results. I would highly recommend your company!

- Linda – Minneapolis

From the time of initial contact to the time of job completion was 24 hrs. Very pleased with job outcome. Will definitely use you again. If ever in need.

- Kevin – St. Paul

Response time was awesome. We we’re bewildered by what was happening and what needed to be done. 24hr came in and took care of what needed to be done.

- Susan – Plymouth

I thought 24 was very professional and timely work.

- Veronica – Lake Elmo

24Restore was very responsive and did a thorough job plus they cleaned up after themselves.

- Jean – St. Cloud

The job was exceptionally well done. You were recommended to me by Dennis Carlson, a freind and I would definatley refer 24restore to friends and family.

- Jan – Anoka

Very Professional!

- Gordon – Andover

Everyone was on top of everything and got back to me in a reasonable time. Clean up was done absolutely perfect at the end of each job.

- Pam – Arden Hills

The guys who worked here were great, polite, personable and hard workers. They did a great job! So thankful this is over!

- Ron and Jackie – Minneapolis

Working with the employees at 24restore has been an easy process. They aimed to please.

Kudos to Shelli Abraham especially, she worked with the mortgage company and insurance company so I didn’t have to, I’m a caregiver for my husband with Dementia, she took the pressure off having to deal with them, thanks Shelli.

- Sharon and Ray Kelly – Maple Grove MN

Over 2000 Reviews!