So, you love your gas appliances, because they are so efficient, but consider safety measures as we head into the heating season. If gas appliances are not properly maintained by a qualified technician, you could be at risk for carbon-monoxide poisoning through leaks or improper venting! Carbon monoxide can be found in combustion fumes, such as those produced from gas-burning stoves, dryers, furnaces, water heaters, boilers, fireplaces, lanterns, cars, as well as burning wood and charcoal.  Aging equipment and gas piping can break down from corrosion and cause failures that could lead to leaks.  Discovering cracked heat exchangers on furnaces is common this time of year, which is best to rectify before the heart of the heating season, in order to keep your family safe.  Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and colorless  and can create symptoms similar to the flu from exposure. Symptoms from over-exposure are: nausea, headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. Pets, infants, unborn babies, elderly and people with chronic heart disease, anemia or respiratory issues are at a much higher risk.  Carbon monoxide poisoning is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Annually, over 20,000 people visit the emergency room; over 4,000 are hospitalized; and an average of 400 people die from carbon-monoxide poisoning, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Can you prevent being a statistic?  Can you live free of worry in a safe environment in the comfort of your own home? Yes and yes! Here is the way to reduce your risk of carbon-monoxide build-up:

1. Schedule a Kellam Mechanical Gas Safety Inspection for only $69!

2.  Do not use charcoal, a barbecue grill or portable, flameless, chemical heaters indoors.

3.  Never burn anything on a stove or in an unvented fireplace. Always open the flue when in use.

4.  Never use a generator indoors, in the garage or near vents or windows leading indoors.

5.  Install a quality carbon-monoxide detector.

Safe family: priceless.

Kellam Mechanical employs NATE-Certified technicians to perform your Gas Safety Inspection, using a high quality leak detector on your gas appliances and gas piping inside your home.  This includes the inspection of proper venting applications. Technicians are also trained to locate the proper placement in your home for optimal detection, and they stock detectors approved by the National Comfort Institute (NCI). These will set off an alarm at 10 parts-per-million, compared to detectors sold on home-improvement shelves that don’t start detecting until 70 parts-per-million after 2 hours of exposure, when symptoms have begun to set in. Carbon monoxide detectors save lives; so if you have gas appliances in your home, invest in a low-level detector!  Natural gas smells like rotten eggs, due to the added compound, sulfur. If you suspect a leak or your carbon-monoxide detector alarms, exit your dwelling; and call 9-1-1 to have our local, friendly fire department secure your property. Then call Kellam Kellam to perform repairs in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk, Virginia.

757-430-0358

Call today to schedule your Gas Safety Inspection, and take $25 off a carbon monoxide detector.

Know someone who needs a safe home this winter?

Tell ’em Kellam!

 

 

 

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