Candle Safety for Your HVAC System

09.29.23

Fall is finally here, which means exciting fall leaves and pumpkin spice aroma candles in the air. While candles make an excellent addition to your home’s decor and scent, homeowners should be aware of important candle safety tips before lighting candles. When burning a candle in a home with an HVAC system, take these expert times from John A. Kinkaid into consideration!

Placement of Your Candles

The placement of your candles throughout your home is more important than you’d think! Before lighting a candle, be sure to place candles away from vents, ducts, and any air intake vents. The heat and airflow while your HVAC runs heat in the cooler months could cause a fire hazard or damage your system. Candles can safely be placed on tables, coffee tables, or other flat, even surfaces.

Be Mindful of Flammable Items

While this may seem obvious, it’s worth mentioning as it is exceptionally important. When lighting candles, be aware of surrounding items that may be flammable, such as curtains or other hanging objects. Any drafts from your HVAC system could cause the flame to blow toward these flammable items, posing a serious risk for your home, as well as your health and safety.

Keep an Eye on Candles

It can be easy to light a candle and get immersed in the scent, forgetting to keep an eye on the candle itself. When lighting candles, keep a watchful eye and remain in the room where the candle is lit. Never leave your house without blowing out the candle first. Most candles should not be burned for more than four hours at a time.

Get a Wick Trimmer

A wick trimmer is an easy, inexpensive device that can help you quickly snip wicks to the appropriate length. For the safest environment, keep your wicks trimmed to ¼ of an inch at all times. This means you may need to trim the wick before each use. Wicks that are too long could cause a fire hazard.

Ask Us HVAC Candle Questions

Have questions about lighting candles in your home while running your HVAC system? Speak to the experts at John A. Kinkaid today. We’re happy to help!

Outdoor Holiday Decorating Safety

12.28.18

holiday outdoor safety

The holiday season is here. But there is still time for a few do’s and don’ts on outdoor safety from John A. Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning for your family and home this holiday season.

1. Hanging Outdoor Lights

DO: Keep electrical cords off the ground.

DON’T: Attach electrical cords or lights to metal rain gutters.

DO: Use insulated tape or plastic clips to fasten lights or electrical cords outdoors.

DON’T: Use metal nails or tacks to hold lights and electrical cords in place.

2. Using Ladders

DO: Choose the correct ladder for the job.

DON’T: Settle for a ladder that is too short and try to rig it to make it work anyway.

DO: Check for certification marks to ensure your ladder meets the applicable safety standards.

3. Clean Your Gutters

DO: Clear your rain gutters of any debris before hanging outdoor lights, electrical cords, or other decorations on the outside of your house. Overflowing gutters could cause water to run down over outdoor lights and electrical cords and become a fire hazard.

DON’T: Let debris build up after decorations have been put up. Even if you clean out your gutters before decorating the outside of your home, you still need to check your gutters regularly to ensure debris is not building up again. This is especially important after storms or windy weather.

4. Clear Your Roof of Snow and Debris

DO: Clear your roof of snow and debris before hanging outdoor decorations on your house.

DON’T: Leave debris on your roof. Cleaning out your gutters does no good if you leave debris on your roof. The debris from your roof will just wash down into your gutters, undoing all your hard work.

5. Give your HVAC a tuneup

Be sure to get your HVAC system serviced in time for the holidays! If you’ve gone to all the work of decorating your home inside and out, you don’t want it ruined by a faulty HVAC system, leaving your family out in the cold.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

Holiday Home Safety

11.29.18

holiday home safety

The holiday season is in full swing and it’s time to go over some last minute preparations. Here are 7 quick tips from John A. Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning for how to keep your family safe this holiday season.

1. Check those holiday lights

Check all your holiday lights for frayed cords, missing or broken bulbs, and cracked sockets, as these can all be fire hazards. When replacing bulbs, be sure to unplug the lights. Also, make sure that the bulb is the correct wattage and voltage.

2. Turn the lights off when you leave

This doesn’t just apply to lights. Turn off lights, blow out candles, and turn off or bank the fireplace. These can all be fire hazards even when you are around to keep an eye on them. If no one is there to monitor the situation, things can get out of control fast.

3. Keep combustible materials away from open flames

A lot of us like to light candles and fireplaces around this time of year, but it is vital to keep all potentially combustible materials away from open flames. If you want to put a candle on your windowsill, consider what type of curtains you have. Can you pull them back far enough that they are safely out of the way? Many houses have burned to the ground from a simple curtain catching fire.

If you have a fireplace, make sure you keep any extra firewood and kindling far enough back from the edge. Use a metal fireplace screen as an extra precaution.

4. Use one big extension cord instead of several small ones

Make sure you get an extension cord that is the correct length for your purposes. Chaining together several smaller extension cords can actually be a fire hazard. Just make sure it isn’t so long that someone might trip on it and fall into the fireplace.

6. Test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors

With all these fire hazards around the house, putting new batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors is a good idea. Test to make sure they are up to date and working. The last thing you want is to have your holiday season ruined by a house fire.

7. Give your HVAC a tuneup

Be sure to get your HVAC system serviced in time for the holidays! Get those filters changed and everything up to date to ensure your family’s safety so you can enjoy a worry-free holiday season.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

4 Home Preparation Tips For Fall

08.17.18

While the heat of summer is still in full swing, the cool fall weather is not far off. The days are getting shorter and school is starting up again. Before you know it, winter will be here! It is always good to get a jumpstart on preparing your home for the colder months ahead. Here are some great tips for preparing your home for fall, brought to you by the experts at John A Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning.

1. Clean the Fireplace and Chimney

Most of us love a big roaring fire on those cold winter evenings, especially during the holidays with our family and friends. But cleaning out your fireplace and chimney before using it is a vital safety precaution. You never know what can get stuck up in the chimney and if there is a blockage somewhere, it can easily become a real fire hazard.

2. Check Your Weather Proofing

Heating your house during the winter can get expensive. One easy way to cut down on the cost is to check the weather proofing around your doors and windows. The last thing you want is for all that expensive heat to be seeping out through cracks around your doors and windows. So, check your weather stripping to ensure there are no drafts.

3. Home Safety Check

Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. The risk of fire increases over the holidays due to increased usage of candles and fireplaces in many households. Keep your family safe by being proactive. Always be sure that you have an emergency evacuation plan in place in the event of an emergency. Be sure to account for small children, elderly, handicapped, and pets when drawing up your emergency plans.

4. Get Your HVAC System Serviced This Fall by Your Local HVAC Experts

Now is the perfect time to get your HVAC system serviced to ensure that it is ready for fall. Don’t wait until the last minute! The last thing you want is for your HVAC system to fail in an emergency and leave your family out in the cold.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

For more advice on heating your house, check out our blog Four Common Heating Myths Put to the Test.

Firework Safety

06.22.18

firework

July 4th is just around the corner. Many families across the United States are gearing up for the festivities. Most of these festivities include fireworks in some form or another. Here are some quick firework safety tips from your friends at John A. Kinkaid Heating and Air Conditioning.

Firework Safety Best Practices

1. Know your local laws

Three states have completely banned all consumer fireworks. These are New Jersey, Delaware and Massachusetts.

2. Always supervise children

Never leave children unattended with lighters, matches, sparklers or fireworks.

3. Be careful where you point fireworks

Never point fireworks at yourself, other people, animals or buildings. This applies even when you are just trying to light the firework.

4. Beware of “duds”

If a firework has been lit but appears to be a “dud,” do not approach and attempt to relight it. Some fireworks may have a problem with the fuse that delays setting the firework off. Many of these fireworks will still go off; it just may take longer than expected. Approaching an apparent “dud” before it has gone off may result in serious injury.

5. Keep fireworks away from structures

Never set off fireworks near homes, garages, barns or other structures that may catch fire. Many fireworks produce sparks and a small amount of flammable debris. This is not usually enough to light grass on fire, but it may be enough to light a building on fire if it lands the wrong place. Remember, what goes up must come down. You don’t want a firework to land on the roof of your house and burn your home down.

6. Keep alcohol away from fireworks

Make sure that anyone who is handling fireworks or even standing too close to them is not drinking. Being intoxicated can cause impaired judgement. The last thing anyone wants is someone with impaired judgement handling flammable materials.

In addition, alcohol is a flammable substance. Fireworks produce sparks and flammable debris. The combination of the two could spell disaster if they were to combine and start a fire.

7. Keep fireworks away from the grill

Many grills have gas tanks that are extremely flammable. Sparks or flammable debris from fireworks could cause an explosion if a gas tank were to catch fire.

Need more safety tips from your HVAC experts? Contact us today!

3 Fire Prevention Tips for Colder Months

10.15.14

Last week, the week of October 6^th, was National Fire Prevention Week. We felt that a post pertaining to HVAC related fire prevention would be very beneficial. While our post is a tad belated, it’s still relevant for any time of year, especially during colder months!

All sorts of potential fire hazards come into play during the fall and winter months. With the need for heating, we often throw caution to the wind, focusing solely on making our house feel as cozy as possible. This is when problems arise.

The National Fire Protection Association purports that 53,600 reported U.S. home fires were due to heating equipment alone, in 2011. This resulted in 400 civilian deaths and 1,500 injuries, as well as $900 million in direct property damage. Here is a breakdown of what types of heating equipment sparked these fires:

While this type of house fire only accounts for 14% of annual residential fires, 100% of them were, and are, preventable through proper heating practices and precautions. Please read through the following fire prevention tips to keep your home safe this fall and winter:

#1 Proper Smoke Alarm Care

This is the most basic fire prevention necessity during anytime of year. There are some things you should always be aware of and take care of in regards to your smoke alarms.

Are your smoke alarms in the right spot (i.e. each level of the home, outside sleeping areas and in each bedroom)?
How old are your alarms? If they’re over 10 years old they must be replaced ASAP.
Test your smoke alarms monthly and change the batteries every year.

**Nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths result from non-working smoke alarms.

#2 Central Heating Maintenance

It is important to get your central heating system cleaned, inspected and serviced by a true HVAC professional. You should schedule heating system maintenance every year before firing up your heating system.

If you happen to own a gas heater in your home, please make sure you have carbon monoxide detectors in place. At minimum, have a detector near the sleeping areas. Ideally, you should have one in every bedroom.

#3 Space Heater and Fireplace Safety

Space heaters are far and away the leading cause of civilian home fire deaths from heating equipment, and they are more or less the easiest to prevent. They are not exactly a necessity, but if you must have one in your home, please take note of the following:

Leave a minimum three feet of space between the space heater and any objects, especially furniture or drapery.
NEVER use the space heater to dry clothes or objects.
ALWAYS turn space heaters off when leaving the home and going to sleep.
Do not leave any combustible items near heaters.

At 38%, fireplaces and chimneys are the number one source of residential fires caused by heating equipment. It’s imperative then that you execute proper maintenance and precaution with your fireplace, each year. Please consider the following:

Have your chimney inspected and cleaned out once a year.
Repair cracks in the fireplace.
Do not ever use gasoline to start or fuel a fire in your indoor fireplace.
Keep combustible materials at least three feet from your fireplace.
Have all connections and lines inspected on your natural gas fireplace before every cold weather season.
Outdoor fireplaces can be just as dangerous, exercise precaution!

For further information on home heating safety and fire prevention, or if you’re ready to schedule an HVAC maintenance appointment, please get in touch!

215-657-1262

Willow Grove

215-646-5577

Ambler

1-866-HEAT-106

Toll Free

Email: John.Kinkaid.HVAC@Gmail.com