Whether you’ve turned on your heat already or you’re still waiting, there are few steps everyone should take to keep your home safe.

Dave Osborn, the president of Trouble Free, Inc. in Pekin said they're staying busy checking furnaces and furnace filters.

Osborn said changing your furnace filter should be the first thing you do before turning on your heat. However, adding a clean furnace filter isn't the only way to make sure you're staying safe while keeping your home warm.

“We go up inside of the heat exchanger with a camera and we check the inside of the heat exchanger to make sure that there's no holes or cracks in that heat exchanger,” said Osborn, “If there is holes and cracks in that heat exchanger it gives the potential for getting carbon monoxide in the house.”

Osborn also recommends that you keep your vents open in your home because closing them off home can cause the heat to back up and destroy the furnace.