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STEP 6 OF 6 · SAFETY

Safety practices

What to take out of the room, how to power the heaters safely, and how to protect sprinklers before you heat a room.

SAFETYAbout 5 min readREQUIRED BEFORE TREATMENT
3D view of a bedroom during a heat treatment: a red zone marks 3 feet of clear space in front of the heater’s hot-air outlet and a blue zone marks 2 feet at its air intake, with arrows showing air going in and hot air coming out. The fans stand along the walls and each heater cord runs to its own outlet.
BEFORE YOU START

Take these out of the room.

Leaving them in risks a fire or an explosion.

FlammablesGasoline, propane canisters, lamp fuel, alcohol, solvents and paint.
Anything pressurizedLighters, hairspray and other spray cans, fire extinguishers, oxygen bottles.
Heirlooms and irreplaceable itemsInspect them first and decide whether they should be treated at all.

The full list of what to take out and what to leave in is in Step 4: Heat treatment preparation.

Why it matters for your heat treatment: aerosol cans carry a warning not to expose them above 50 °C. A treated room runs at 60 °C for hours.

TEST RESET
A GFCI outlet has TEST and RESET buttons. Bathrooms and kitchens usually have one.
POWER

Power the heaters safely.

  1. 1One heating element per circuit. Plug each heater cord into an outlet on its own breaker. Nothing else goes on those circuits while the heater runs.
  2. 2GFCI for the control cord. Plug the cord that powers the heater’s controls into a GFCI outlet. If anything goes wrong, the GFCI cuts the power and shuts the heater down.
  3. 3Only the cords we supply. Standard 12-gauge extension cords with lighted ends, one per circuit. Never use a power strip or a lighter household cord: it can overheat and start a fire.
  4. 4Unplug what stays in the room. Most electronics can stay in the room during treatment (see Step 4), but unplug every one of them first.
HEATER PLACEMENT

Give the heater room to breathe.

Clear space at both ends

Keep 3 feet clear in front of the hot-air outlet and 2 feet clear at the air intake. Nothing that can burn in those spaces: furniture, bedding, curtains, clothing or paper.

Never aim it at anything

Point the hot air into open space, never straight at furniture, a wall or a bed. Fans are optional but help: set them blowing the same way as the heater so the hot air circles the whole room.

Switch off before you move it

Turn the heater off and unplug it before you move it to the next room, even a few feet.

KEEP THE AIR INTAKE CLEAN

Nothing loose that the air can carry.

The fans move a lot of air, and the heater pulls air in through its intake. Anything light enough to fly can be sucked in, touch the hot heating element and cause a bad odour or even a spark. A plastic bag can cover the intake and block the airflow completely.

Plastic and grocery bagsLoose papers and receiptsTissues and paper towelsDryer sheetsGift wrap and tissue paperFeathers from pillows and duvetsCotton balls and padsDryer lintPet fur balls and hairDust bunnies

Pick these up or weigh them down before you start, then vacuum floors, corners and under furniture to remove dust and pet fur.

Always switch the heater off and unplug it before you move it.Moving a running heater stirs up dust and debris and can pull them straight into the intake and onto the hot element. We have seen this fill a room with smoke and destroy a heater.
If you see smoke or smell burningSwitch the heater off at its main power switch and unplug it if you can do so safely. Open the windows and call us at (604) 925-0353. Never pour water, baking soda or anything else on or into the heater.
If you see flamesUnplug the heater, or switch off its breaker, if you can reach it safely, and call 911. Bring the fire extinguisher in from outside the room and use it only if the fire is small and you have a clear way out: aim at the base of the flames. Never use water on an electrical fire. If the fire grows, get everyone out and close the door behind you.

Never leave a fire extinguisher inside the room being treated. Extinguishers are pressurized and must not be heated. Keep an ABC extinguisher handy outside the room, on a balcony, in the hallway or somewhere you can reach it quickly.

SPRINKLERS AND ALARMS

Check the colour of every sprinkler bulb.

Most sprinkler heads have a small glass bulb, and its colour tells you the temperature the head opens at. Most heads are designed to open between 57 °C and 77 °C (orange or red bulbs). Red, 68 °C, is the standard in homes and apartments. The standards they’re installed to limit the air around them to 38 °C. An orange head is rated to open at 57 °C, below our 60 °C room air.

Orange · 57 °CRed · 68 °CMOST COMMON IN HOMESYellow · 79 °CGreen · 93 °C

A heat treatment runs well above 38 °C, so every sprinkler head in the room needs protecting before you start, whatever its colour. The common practice is an insulated cover with a cold pack inside; our cooling covers are $100 per rental. Covers lower the risk but cannot guarantee a head won’t be damaged or go off, and the rules vary by building and city.

Before you treat a room with sprinklers, check with your building manager or strata and your local fire department, and follow their instructions.

They may require a licensed sprinkler contractor, a notice to the alarm company, or someone posted to watch for fire. Take every cover off as soon as the room has cooled.

Six sprinkler glass bulbs and the temperature each one opens at: orange 57 °C, red 68 °C, yellow 79 °C, green 93 °C, blue 141 °C, purple 182 °C
Sprinkler bulb colours and their opening temperatures. Photo: public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
DURING AND AFTER

Keep visits short.

Short visits only

The room is held around 60 °C (140 °F), cooler than a sauna at about 80–90 °C. You can step in briefly to check the temperature, then close the door behind you. Pets stay out the whole time, and anyone with a heart condition or who is pregnant should not go in. You can stay in the rest of your home.

We watch remotely

The wireless temperature logger lets us follow the room from outside it. We send you the full temperature history, free.

Going back in

Switch the heaters off and open all the windows. Wait about an hour, or until the room feels comfortable, before you go back in. Then take the sprinkler covers off.

Why it matters for your heat treatment: the hold time only counts once every sensor reads target, so keep the door closed and every visit short. Review the setup guide

WATCH

See the safety rules in action.

Our own short video covers placement and airflow, power, sprinklers and what to do if something goes wrong. It is also on our YouTube channel.

Bed bug heat treatment safetyHeatZone Pest Control · 2:34

Sources and further reading

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