Public Notice
It has come to the attention of the Housing Department that there is issues with the heat flow in some of the housing units. There are a number of issues that can contribute to problems that will affect proper air flow in the home and therefore cause issues with your furnace or baseboard heaters to not function properly.
In no circumstance should any of the vents in your home be blocked off in any way. This includes closing them manually, covering them with anything including having furniture sitting on or overtop of them. When the vents are covered it places strain on the furnace to operate properly and the airflow is not equally distributed around your home which could cause cold areas and mould to form.
Baseboard heaters require air flow to operate properly. If they are blocked by furniture, curtains or anything else it creates a potential fire hazard. The thermostat will not operate properly and they will not turn on because they are no longer able to monitor the heat in the entire room. They will eventually overheat and cause a fire or they will not turn on at all as they do not recognize the need to.
Please look around your place and remove any potential hazards and open all vents to ensure proper flow from the furnace. If you are using a space heater in your home it should never be left unmonitored as they can also create a fire hazard if they overheat. Space heaters should only be used as a short-term solution to heat a small space and are never intended to be used as a long-term solution to heating your home. Furnace filters should be replaced every at least every 90 days to ensure that there is proper air flow to and from the furnace. A dirty filter will also decrease the amount of air flow around your home and will increases how hard your furnace has to work to distribute air through your home. It also has an effect on the air quality in your home.
If you are still encountering problems with your heat after you have ensured that you have done all of the above please contact the Housing Department and we will arrange to have someone do a site visit to look at the furnace. Please feel free to contact the Housing Department at (204)766-2494.
Holiday Schedule will be Shane 204-485-5332.
Respectfully,
BON Housing Department
