With frigid temperatures settling into Central Illinois for the next week, the City of Champaign reminds residents and landlords to take proactive measures to protect your homes and stay warm during this long period of forecasted freezing temperatures:
- Replace the air filter in your furnace to help it run as efficiently as possible.
- Consider adding layers of clothing or blankets during extreme weather.
- Ensure no objects are blocking the flow of air from your heat source.
- To keep pipes from freezing, allow a small trickle of water to run overnight from faucets prone to freezing. Collect the water in a bucket so it can be used for other purposes, like drinking water for pets or watering plants.
- Never use an oven or stove to heat your home.
- Portable space heaters should never be used as the only source of heat.
- If using a portable space heater for supplemental heat, follow manufacturer’s directions.
- Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment. This includes your furnace, fireplace, wood stove, and portable space heater.
- Plug only one heat-producing appliance (like a space heater) into an electrical outlet at a time and for safety, turn off and unplug it after use.
- Check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms monthly.
- Open sink cabinet doors to expose water pipes to warmer room temperatures.
- Property owners should check on vacant units to ensure adequate temperatures to avoid frozen pipes, including sprinkler systems.
Home heating equipment is involved in one of every seven home fires, and many of these are preventable. The City encourages landlords and tenants to work together to protect our families and homes. Tenants who are experiencing any problems with heat, frozen pipes, or other issues should promptly contact their property manager or landlord. If any resident experiences a situation where their home or apartment does not have heat and their landlord is not responding in a timely manner, please contact Neighborhood Services at 217-403-7070. Neighborhood Services Department staff will return your call during regular business hours.