Is Your Water Heater Safe? Learn the 5 Most Important Fire Safety Tips for Water Heaters
Many people don’t know the first thing about ensuring their water heater is not only running well but is safe. At The Stanley Louis Company we are always happy to come out, perform maintenance, and show you how to keep your water heater safe. Read on to get some tips and then contact us at 800-217-6527 if you have additional questions.
- Have your water heater checked every year
- Do not store flammable materials near your water heater
- Make sure you know how to shut off your water heater
- Keep the area around your water heater free from debris
- Keep your water heater well ventilated
The most important thing you can do is to ensure that you are having your water heater checked every year. Most people wait until there is a leak or until it stops working, but if you simply pay for yearly maintenance on your water heater you can save a lot of money in the long-run. For example, we could discover a tiny gas leak that gets taken care of before it turns into a fire hazard.
This is the most important thing to keep in mind. Flammable liquids kept near a water heater can become ignited and if they do, then you can count on a big fire. Keep paint, gas cans, oily rags, and anything else that is flammable far away from your water heater.
There are many reasons you should know how to shut off your water heater, including preventing fire danger. If you smell gas or you find that there is a gas leak in your water heater, then you need to get that gas shut of quickly. If you don’t know how to turn off your water heater now, we recommend contacting a water heater specialist. We can walk you through the process step by step so that you know exactly what to do in an emergency.
As we mentioned above, it is important to keep flammables away from your water heater. It is even better to ensure that your water heater has plenty of room around it. This assures that there’s ventilation so that if the pilot assembly has issues it can burn the correct way. If you cut off the air flow with debris and clutter, then you could end up with a water heater not working correctly – and that could be a fire hazard.
It’s often the case that water heaters are in the garage, which makes it more likely that you will pack other items around it. We suggest that you work hard to keep it free from any type of debris at all. Not only does this reduce the chances of a fire, but it also helps to ensure that if there is reason to get at the water heater, you can get there easily.
