BRENTWOOD, Mo. – Temperatures are dipping toward the freezing point Tuesday night. A lot of residents will be urged to click their thermostat from cool to heat.
This is the back-and-forth time of year when temperatures are manageable during the day and chilly at night. It’s a decision-making time, whether to turn the furnace on, or keep it off.
FOX 2 spoke with the experts at Hoffman Brothers about the general maintenance before clicking your heat on tonight.
”Make sure you’re checking your filter, make sure it’s clean. Make sure if your thermostat has batteries, change the batteries on the thermostat. Make sure it’s actually set to heat when you’re trying to keep the heat on, or set to cool if you’re going back to A/C mode.” Hoffman Brothers Department Manager Nick Heitman said.
Adjusting the thermostat to a heat setting may bring the smell of smoke.
”Typically, that’s just dust built up inside the furnace. That smell should go away in 5 to 10 minutes with furnace runtime. Nothing to worry about, it’s just overtime that happens. Gas furnace or electric heat…If it continues on past 10 to 15 minutes, it probably needs to be checked out,” Heitman added.
Preventive maintenance can go a long way to avoid heavy duty maintenance repair.
In addition to the incoming cold air, keeping your pets safe is vital as well.
”I know that there are people that do keep their pets outside. If you do have a dog that you keep outside, and you can’t bring him in the really cold weather, I would certainly put a lot of straw in that doghouse. You can also get heated dog houses, by the way. But the straw will keep the dog warmer,” Michelle Meehan Schrader with the Belleville Area Humane Society said.
Straw is hollow and it stays dry, unlike blankets and bedding. It’s recommended to continuously check on their food and water dish.
You can actually purchase heated water dishes for animals that primarily stay outside, but Michelle mentioned if it’s too cold for you, it’s far too cold for your pets. So, the best advice is to let them sleep inside.
