Propane Safety Tips for Heating Your Home This Winter Season

As we head into winter residential propane heating systems and propane fireplaces will be keeping families across Ontario warm and comfortable.

Propane heating systems provide your family home or cottage with a number of energy-saving benefits, and can also be used to power a range of appliances from cooking, laundry, drying, space heaters, refrigerators, water heaters and much more.

Propane is also one of the safest alternative energy sources you can use in your family home. However, it’s still a good idea to follow a few basic propane safety rules to ensure your family can enjoy your propane properly.

Here's a list of five propane safety tips for homeowners as we head into the winter season.

Know what propane smells like

Have you ever wondered what propane smells like? It’s more than likely you will never have to smell it, but you’ll instantly recognize it if you do. That’s because a chemical is added to propane to give it a strong smell of rotten eggs.

If you do smell what you think may be a propane leak, then you should leave the building and immediately call your propane supplier’s emergency phone number or the emergency services.

Keep your tank clear and easy to access

Your propane tank should be in a safe location with no other pieces of furniture, equipment or clutter obstructing the tank. It’s even more important to keep flammable materials and sources of ignition away from your propane tank, so that means raking those fall leaves away.

To help your propane delivery driver, you should also mark your propane tank with a small flag or marker and keep a pathway through the snow to your tank if possible. 

Have heating equipment and propane tanks inspected by a professional

To ensure your heating appliances and propane tanks are safe for use this winter, ensure they are inspected by a professional propane specialist before you use them.

While propane tanks legally have to be inspected every 10 years, there’s no harm to have them inspected more frequently to guarantee they are safe to use. A propane supplier, such as Budget Propane Ontario, will have experts on hand to do this for you.

Set up Remote Tank Monitoring & Auto Delivery

This one is not so much about the safety of your propane appliances, but more about the safety of your family. Winter deliveries can be difficult when there is snow, especially when there’s significant snowfall.

Setting up an auto delivery service will ensure your family doesn’t get stuck without heat. Using remote tank monitor readings, Budget Propane will be able to automatically refill your propane tank when it begins to get low.

Install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors

Homes in Ontario must legally have carbon monoxide detectors if they have fuel-burning appliances inside of them. That means if you have any propane appliances within your home, it’s essential that you have one. 

Have any further questions about propane safety this winter, or simply want a quote for residential or commercial propane delivery? Contact our team of experts today.