One Reason Checking Your Gas Meter Is Vitally Important During Winter in Illinois

Do you make a habit of clearing the ice and snow from your home's gas meter? Doing so may save your family's lives!

Important Things to Do Each Winter

Living in Illinois, we all know there are certain things we need to do to keep our homes and family safe each winter. Some of the biggest things are;

• Keeping chimneys free of debris and buildup.
• Having your furnace inspected and/or changing furnace filters.
• Insulating and protecting pipes from the cold.
• Testing smoke detectors.
• Clearing driveway and sidewalks of snow and ice.

Temps may be pretty mild right now in Illinois, but just over a week ago we were all busy shoveling snow and melting ice, and we'll probably doing it all again very soon.

One Important Thing People Forget to Clear of Snow and Ice

Here's an important question for you;

The last time it snowed, did you remember to clear the snow and ice from your home's gas meter?

Just so we're clear, a gas meter that looks like this is bad...

and this is VERY bad...

I'm pretty sure we didn't think to clear our gas meter that last time it snowed, and that could be a very dangerous thing.

Here's why according to Xcel Energy;

Icy build-up can dangerously interfere with the flow of natural gas to and from your meter, and accumulated snow can prevent the meter from operating properly by stopping the flow of natural gas. A snow-covered meter could also lead to a loss of service and freezing of inside pipes as a result of lost heat.

Exhaust gases need a clear opening to vent to the outside and prevent the buildup of carbon monoxide, a dangerous gas.

Yikes! Carbon monoxide is a very bad thing, so please make sure you keep an eye on your gas meter this winter. It could end up hurting a lot more than just your wallet.

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