Winter season is already in its full swing. One thing that many of us cannot live without in winters is a good room heater. Room heaters come in various types starting from Fan heaters, Infrared or halogen heaters to Oil filled room heaters. Oil filled room heaters are expensive than the others. Infrared and fan heaters are economical and affordable. However, there are certain downsides to using room heaters. We will discuss that in another post. This post is about the room heater safety tips. While purchasing a room heater, one thing you must consider is safety of children and general safety of household. Most of the fire hazards because of the use of room heaters either happen because of callousness or lack of awareness about how the device should be used.

Halogen room heater

Infrared heaters also known as quartz heaters or halogen heaters are not very safe of children since they work by using the halogen light to heat up the surrounding. The radiant heat emitted to surrounding heats up the nearby area almost immediately. In this post we will focus on safety tips to be followed by using an infrared room heater. You must keep in mind the following while using the heater or even when it is not in use.

1. Always use a room heater only when it is in an upright position. Do not place it beside something to direct the heat at a certain angle.
2. Always ensure that the heater is placed away from furniture, curtains or any material that can catch fire. There should be sufficient air flow around the heater.
3. Do not also put the room heater directly under wall socket.
4. Never cover the heater with a wall cloth or anything else. Keep this in mind even when it is switched off and connected to socket. Such things may catch fire when the heater is accidentally turned on by a kid playing nearby.
5. Do not use surface sanitizers or inflammable liquid or gases nearby while the room heater is on.
6. Also never use it near bath tubs, showers or swimming pool.
7. Ensure power cord is not tangled around heater while in use.
8. Never ever touch the knob or other parts with wet hands.
9. Always keep the heater away from the reach of children.
10. If you have a habit of keeping the heater on, ensure it is placed away from your sleeping bed.
11. Always keep the room heater unplugged when not in use. This is important for safety of children and also others while the room or floor is being cleaned or damp mopped.
12. You must not temper the heater or open its casing trying to fix some issue like a non working halogen tube (which is quite common).