Homeowners urged to service heaters amid carbon monoxide leakages
With stuck-at-home Melburnians now warming their homes as winter starts to bite, experts are warning of a possible lurking danger with heaters — especially in older models.
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Victorian homeowners are being urged to service their heaters to prevent deadly carbon monoxide leaks.
And experts say those with decades old devices should have them checked every six months.
The Heating and Cooling Company general manager Des Zain said the most dangerous heaters were space heaters and wall burners, with carbon monoxide poising the biggest risk from them.
“There has been deaths and the most dangerous part about it is that you can’t smell it, that’s why it’s best to service it regularly.”
He advised homeowners to get their heaters serviced every 12 months to 24 months to prevent carbon monoxide leakages.
“There’s some heaters that are still running from the 80s and for them we advise a service every six months because they are most at risk of leaking,” Mr Zain said.
“We are still seeing about 10 to 20 heaters a week at households that are from the 80s and if they have the slightest wear on the heat exchanger we direct a replacing of the heater,” he said.
“Every year we detect carbon monoxide in about 10 per cent of all heaters.”
He said his business had experienced a surge of calls to have heaters repaired across Melbourne due to more people being at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
RACV Home general manager Darren Turner said Emergency Home Assist (EHA) crews were experiencing a “huge spike” in the number of call outs to repair heating systems this month.
New data from RACV revealed top five suburbs for call-outs to fix faults included Mt Waverley, Glen Waverley, Rowville, Doncaster East and Doncaster.
EHA crews also saw a 114 per cent jump in call-outs to repair leaking roofs and ceilings in the first weeks of April.
“We had a couple of really cold weekends at the start of the month, which combined with an increase in Victorians staying at home because of COVID-19 restrictions, led to a surge in EHA calls,” Mr Turner said.
“The number of call-outs to inspect or repair faulty heating systems skyrocketed by a whopping 233 per cent,” he said.
“Overall EHA requests for help around the home were up 32 per cent.”
Mr Turner said while it was alarming to see such an increase, there was often a very simple reason behind it.
“We’re finding that as the weather gets colder, many Victorians have been turning on their heaters for the first time in almost a year.
“Many people also don’t upgrade their heaters that often and people are finding that the appliances don’t work as well as they used to.
“If you think there’s a problem with your heating system, it doesn’t sound right or if you can smell gas, for example, shut it down and call the professionals to come and inspect it.”
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