Staying Warm Safely: Space Heaters, Carbon Monoxide, and Cold Homes

Before it gets cold: the heating check

• Have the furnace or heating system serviced before the first cold snap, not during it, when repair calls back up.
• If there's a fireplace or wood stove that gets used, have the chimney inspected and cleaned.
• Check that the thermostat is easy for your parent to read and adjust. Small buttons and faint displays lead to homes that stay too cold because changing the setting is a hassle.

Carbon monoxide: the risk you can't see or smell

Furnaces, gas water heaters, gas stoves, fireplaces, and attached garages can all produce carbon monoxide. It has no color and no smell, and early symptoms like headache, dizziness, tiredness, and confusion are easy to mistake for a cold or simply a bad day.

• Install a carbon monoxide detector on every level of the home and near the bedrooms.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms now, and replace batteries. The weekend the clocks change is an easy date to remember.
• Check the date on the back of each detector. They wear out and need replacing after a number of years.
• If an alarm is hard to hear, or hard to reach to silence, look for models with louder tones or a remote test button.

If a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, the rule is simple: get outside to fresh air and call 911 or the fire department from there.

Space heaters, done right

A space heater can be a reasonable way to warm one room, as long as it's set up carefully:

• Choose a newer model with automatic tip-over shutoff and overheat protection.
• Keep it at least three feet from anything that can burn: curtains, bedding, furniture, stacks of mail.
• Plug it directly into a wall outlet, not an extension cord or power strip.
• Put it where it won't be tripped over, and route the cord along a wall, not across a walking path.
• Turn it off when leaving the room or going to sleep.

Warm without the risk

Some of the best ways to stay warm involve no heat source at all: layered clothing, warm socks with a non-slip sole, an extra blanket on the bed, closing off rooms that aren't used, and draft stoppers at the bottom of exterior doors. Heavy curtains drawn at night help hold heat in.

Electric blankets and heating pads should be newer models with automatic shutoff, and shouldn't be used by someone who has trouble feeling heat on their skin. If that's a concern, it's worth asking their doctor.

When the cost of heat is the problem

If your parent keeps the home cold to save money, it's worth knowing that many utilities and states offer heating assistance, budget billing, or discounts for older adults. A call to the utility company or the local Area Agency on Aging is a good place to start. A home that's too cold carries its own health risks, so this conversation is worth having.