Tenant Guides · Seasonal
Heating Season Prep & CO Safety
Ten minutes in October saves a cold night in January. Here's how to wake your heat up properly — and the carbon monoxide rules that aren't optional.
The short version: before the first cold night, test your smoke and CO detectors, check the furnace filter, and clear three feet around anything that makes heat. A brief dusty smell at first start-up is normal — anything more, tell us.
First start of the season
- A brief burning-dust smell for the first hour is normal — it's summer's dust cooking off the heat exchanger.
- Smell that persists, smoke, or repeated clicking-without-starting: turn the system off and submit an urgent work order.
Furnace filters
A clogged filter is the #1 cause of "my heat is weak" calls. If your unit has an accessible filter slot (usually where the return duct meets the furnace), check it monthly in winter — hold it up to a light; if you can't see light through it, it's done. Not sure where yours is or what size it takes? Submit a work order once and we'll show you.
Radiators
Plenty of South Hills homes heat with radiators. If one is hot at the bottom but cold at the top, it has air trapped in it — submit a routine work order and we'll bleed it; please don't crack the valves yourself. Keep curtains and furniture off radiators so the heat actually reaches the room.
Clearance: the three-foot rule
Keep three feet of open space around furnaces, baseboards, vents, radiators, and space heaters. Nothing stored against or near the furnace — your lease prohibits storing flammable materials in the unit, and the furnace room is exactly where that rule earns its keep.
Carbon monoxide — the non-negotiables
- Never remove a smoke or CO detector, or its batteries. The lease requires you to keep working batteries in them at all times. Chirping detector? Replace the battery the same day.
- Test detectors monthly — hold the button until it screams.
- Never heat the unit with the oven, and never run a grill or generator indoors — including the garage and basement.
- CO symptoms: headache, dizziness, or nausea that improves when you step outside. If that's happening — everyone out, call 911, then call us.
Thermostat habits
Modest setbacks save money, but never set below 55°F — that's the pipe-protection floor, even when you're away. See the extreme cold guide for deep-freeze nights.
No heat in winter is an emergency — call the office at (412) 555-0123.
Everything else heating-related: Submit a Work Order