Overusing room heaters, especially oversized ones, can lead to elevated levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide fumes in the air. These invisible intruders can bring about cold or flu-like symptoms, headaches, and irritating sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat.
Room heaters can cause dryness in the air, which can result in dry skin, dry eyes, and dry throat. This can further lead to respiratory issues, nasal congestion, and increased susceptibility to infections.
Overheating: Continuous operation can cause the heater to overheat, potentially damaging the unit or leading to malfunction. Increased Wear: Prolonged operation can lead to faster wear and tear on the heater, reducing its lifespan and increasing maintenance costs.
Using the heater too often could lead to undesirable consequences like leaving out skin or nasal passages dried out. It Can Cause Carbon Monoxide Poisoning-It's important to keep your space heater in good working order so you don't have any accidents or health problems.
But before you fire it up, be prepared that feeling nice and toasty may also come with a stuffy nose, dry throat, cough or even a headache. These cold-like symptoms are referred to as "heater sickness." “This happens because dust, pollen and other allergens accumulate in your ducts during the warmer months,” Dr.
Improperly ventilated or malfunctioning heaters can produce carbon monoxide, a colourless and odourless gas that is extremely dangerous. Inhaling carbon monoxide can lead to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, and, in severe cases, can be fatal.
You Should Not Leave Space Heaters on Unattended
We do not recommend using space heaters at all because of this risk, but you definitely should not use them at night.
Any heater that burns fuel, such as your furnace, gas water heater or a portable butane or gas heater, produces carbon monoxide that can leak into the air. Mild exposure to carbon monoxide can cause symptoms such as nausea, dizziness or headaches.
Heat-related health problems occur through several pathways: A major rise in body temperature, due to a build-up of heat, leads to conditions such as heat exhaustion, and eventually heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. The redirection of blood flow to the skin, means that the heart must work harder than normal.
The best way to prevent a fire is to never leave a space heater running in a room unattended—that way, if anything does go wrong, you can take action quickly. If you have kids or pets that could knock a heater over or drape fabric on it, keep a very close eye on its operation.
Ideally you should heat your home to a temperature of at least 18 °C. This is particularly important if you have reduced mobility, are 65 or over, or have a health condition, such as heart or lung disease. Having room temperatures slightly over 18 °C could be good for your health.
Some forms of electric heating can cause dry air, which could trigger asthma symptoms. Inadequate ventilation in spaces heated by electric heaters could lead to a build-up of indoor air pollutants such as dust and pet dander.
Overworking your furnace means you're asking more from your heating system than it's built to provide. When your furnace overworks, it can cause increased wear and tear on the furnace, reduced winter furnace efficiency, and potential breakdowns.
If you leave your electric heater on all day, it will eventually wear out. This means that you will have to replace it sooner than if you had turned it off when you weren't using it, leading to additional expenses.
Common side effects
Dehydration: Dry indoor air may lead to excessive water loss from the body, resulting in dehydration. Allergies and irritation: Dust particles or allergens circulated by heaters, especially fan-based models, can trigger allergies or worsen respiratory conditions.
The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. CO symptoms are often described as “flu-like.” If you breathe in a lot of CO, it can make you pass out or kill you.
Space heaters often cause very dry air; this can irritate your sinuses, dry your lips and skin and cause other irritating conditions like nosebleeds and rashes. They can also dry your eyes, making it harder to see clearly after a long day.
The soot stain can have a black, brown or even yellow color. Smell: While carbon monoxide doesn't emit odor, it may get accompanied by other exhaust gases that produce an odor. A yellow burner flame: The pilot flame may produce an unusual yellow flame instead of the normal blue one.
During the winter season, there is nothing more comforting than snuggling in your razai with the room heater on. But doctors warn that leaving your heaters on for the entire night cannot only lead to sleepless nights, dry skin, and allergy but can even prove to be fatal.
There have been many reports from doctors that sleeping with the heating on all night can cause your body to overheat much more quickly. The Sleep Charity advises that an ideal bedroom temperature is 16-18 degrees celsius. Temperatures over 24 degrees celsius can impact your sleep and cause restlessness.
During the Day: It's safe to leave your heater on for 6-8 hours if you're in the room.
Constantly breathing extremely warm, dry air that may contain fungi, mold and mildew from the vents can affect your skin, nose, throat and eyes. Breathing these air particulates and smelling the bacteria may cause sneezing, congestion headaches, coughing and drying out your eyes, nose and throat.
Headaches, coughs and sniffles abound. Common colds, Covid and the flu are likely culprits. But sometimes these symptoms are exacerbated, or even caused, by the hot, dry indoor environments we inhabit during the colder months. Constant heating from boilers, heaters and furnaces can leave us feeling under the weather.