When winter rolls about and we begin shivering, electric heaters come in pretty handy. They keep our homes warm and cozy by transforming electrical energy into heat.
And usually, heaters can be energy hogs, but if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get an energy-efficient one, so you can keep warm without racking up high electrical bills.
Typically, heaters are built to last, especially if you choose a good brand. It’ll last at least five years, and when it’s well-maintained, it’ll certainly last even longer.
But certainly, electric heaters won’t last forever, no matter how good of a quality you choose. They’ll eventually stop functioning some time, or sometimes forced to abandon them when still functional for a more recent version.
But what happens to your initial model when you get a new one? How should you dispose of the old one? Are electric heaters recyclable?
Well, if you’re curious about if electric heaters can be recycled, you’re at the right place. This blog post will explore that option and provide answers to commonly asked questions about electric heaters and there recyclability.
Are Electric Heaters Recyclable?
Yes, you can, and it’s an easy process too. You have to take the electric heater to any company that accepts e-waste. There, it will be recycled into a new product and you’ll have gotten rid of it in a planet-friendly method.
To start off, electric heaters qualify as e-waste, or electric-waste in full. And typically, any material plugged into a socket is e-waste and should be disposed of properly as it can be pretty toxic to the environment when not properly disposed.
Thankfully, we have lots of recycling centers that accept e-waste, including heaters, so you don’t have to send them to the landfills.
But then, keep in mind that not all recycling centers accept e-waste, simply because it can be complex to recycle. So, before your heater to your nearby recycling center, find out if the recycling company accepts this type of waste.
Thankfully, the number of recycling centers dealing with e-waste is on the rise, so you may not spend more than a few minutes on the internet locating one where you can send your heater.
But then, before you take your heater to a recycling center, see if there’s a way you can restore it’s functionality if that’s the problem. Heaters can be repaired in hardware repair centers depending on the problem, so try to explore that option before you bring in recycling centers.
The hardware repair center will identify the problem and fix it. This will save you from the cost of buying a new appliance and you’ll also have done some justice to the planet.
Can You Leave Electric Heaters on All Night?
While some people do it, leaving an electric heater on all night isn’t a good idea. Leaving an electric heater plugged throughout the night can inflict too much heat on the circuit it’s plugged into. This makes it a fire hazard, so it’s best to turn it off before going to bed.
Sometimes it gets too cold that the idea of leaving the heater running all night comes to our minds naturally. But then, no matter how tempting this might get, leaving your heater connected as you slumber is a no-no.
Leaving your heater to run all night comes with a plethora of dangers, including the possibility of causing fires. Hence, before you call it a night, make sure you’ve turned it off using the correct procedure.
Left unattended, anyone or anything could knock it over at any point in the night. It could also fall over on its own if it’s not placed on level ground. Now, if that happens, it could also result in a fire hazard, if not a full-blown fire.
Furthermore, it could consume a lot of energy through the night. Nighttime is just as long as daytime, which means your electric heater will spend at least eight hours plugged in.
If it’s also working through the day, that’s the constant consumption of energy. If yours isn’t energy-saving, then you may be racking up a significantly high electricity bill.
Now, a good solution to all these problems is to turn it off before you head to bed.
Alternatively, you can also get an energy-saving electric heater. Most of them come with automatic thermostats that turn off the heaters when the room has attained a reasonable temperature.
You’ll still get the required warmth without excessive energy consumption or any fire hazards. And yes, depending on the model you choose, you may not have to worry about it toppling over, as some models even allow you to attach them to a wall.
Can You Get Carbon Monoxide Poisoning From Electric Heaters?
Usually, you won’t get carbon monoxide poisoning from electric heaters. Carbon monoxide poisoning emanates from inhaling combustion fumes. These fumes are present in leaking chimneys and furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves, gas water heaters, tobacco smoke, kerosene and gas space heaters with no vents, and back-drafting from furnaces .
And as you might have noticed, one thing that all these items have in common is that fossils or fuel are their sources of energy. Therefore, they have to burn these energy sources to produce heat, and you can inhale combustion fumes from burning fossils or fuel.
When inhaled in low quantities, it can cause fatigue, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and even chest pain in people who have heart diseases.
Electric space heaters convert electric energy to heat. It’s a pure heat source that isn’t capable of giving you carbon monoxide poisoning. It cannot give off combustion fumes because there aren’t fumes coming from it. Instead, it’s just pure heat, like what comes from a bulb or a halogen lamp.
But then, in case it gets knocked over and produces fire, carbon monoxide poisoning becomes a possibility. Not from the heat produced by the heater but from the burning items.
Can You Paint Electric Heaters?
Yes, if you’re dissatisfied with the monochrome colors electric heaters typically come in, you can consider painting yours. It’s a simple do-it-yourself hack that doesn’t require technical skills.
The best type of paint for this feat is appliance epoxy, and you can get it in a range of colors. You’ll also need a paintbrush, painters’ tape, sandpaper, and aluminum foil.
Here’s how to get started:
First, you need to turn off the electric heater at the circuit breaker. Next, rub the sandpaper over the surface of the heater to make paint adhesion possible. For effectiveness, it’s best to use gritty sandpaper that’ll leave impacts on the surface of the heater.
Now, you need to cover the heating elements and vents with aluminum foil or painters’ tape to prevent paint from getting into them. Then, you can lightly brush the epoxy paint onto the surface of the heater and allow it to dry for at least four hours before applying another layer.
Finally, allow the electric heater to dry thoroughly before turning it back on. Just like that, you’ve spruced up your heater, and it’s not achieving functionality and aesthetics!
5+ Ways to Dispose of an Electric Heater
It’s not uncommon to desire an upgrade; however, it’s inevitable to dispose of the previous electric heater to room for the new one. Yours may have also exceeded its lifespan or stopped working for one reason or the other.
So, if you need ways to dispose of your electric heater properly, then we’ve got you covered. We’ll explore several creative upcycling tips for an old electric heater. Let’s get started!
1. Try Some Upcycling Tips
Upcycling is a great disposal method where you suspend the final step of recycling by finding another way to utilize the material in question.
These uses often stem from creativity, and you may even find the new aspect preferable to what it was originally for. Upcycling is usually the last step before giving out your unwanted item because it reduces your waste disposal and consumption of more materials.
It comes in handy in helping out with a fundamental aspect, even though that’s not what it was designed for. That way, fewer resources will be consumed trying to sate your desire to satisfy the need for the area you just found an excellent solution to.
Some creative upcycling tips include the following:
2. Electric Heater Candle Holder
You can transform your electric heater into a candle holder. The artsy side of this hack is the many holes in an electric heater that’ll reflect the soft glow of the candlelight in so many small spots.
You can place a container that’ll gather melted candle wax in the electric heater, make your candle stay put and light it up. However, the heater may conduct some of the heat, so it’s best to avoid carrying it when the candles have been lit for a long time. But with a plastic heater, that likely won’t be a problem.
Remember, the more candles you place in the heater, the brighter the light you’ll get and the better the ambiance. You can place it in your bedroom to create a cozy atmosphere.
3. Electric Heater LED Display Case
It’s an excellent idea to fashion an LED display case out of your old electric heater. Again, the small holes these heaters have make it pretty fascinating to place light in them because of how it’ll reflect.
You can put a couple of colors in there and light it up. Remember, the more diverse colors you include, the better the hack turns out. This makeshift electric heater LED display case can go on your nightstand or even your living room coffee table.
4. Electric Heater Table
Depending on the size of your electric heater, you can convert it to a table stand. But here, you’ll need a strong adhesive, and you can try the carpenters’ glue.
Then, you’ll also need a strong surface that’ll serve as your tabletop. It can be a beautiful piece of plywood or anything creative that you can adhere to the electric heater, and just like that, you’ve fashioned a table for yourself.
Moreover, even if your electric heater is small, you can still take advantage of this hack. But instead, it’ll end up as a small, decorative table that you can reserve for flowers, your phone, and other small items.
5. Display Case
Now, here’s a blank canvas for you to develop. But of course, we’ll provide the first few tips to get started.
Electric space heaters sometimes have sufficient space in them. You can take out the heating components carefully and set them aside. As always, we encourage you to find a use for them or ultimately recycle them.
You can then use the space as a display case, storage unit, decorative unit, and just about anything artsy and unique that you can come up with.
6. Recycle Them
Electric heaters don’t aren’t complex to recycle. You can take them to any recycling company that accepts e-waste and dispose of them there. It’s easy to find one, and you can take advantage of the internet for that.
On the other hand, you can also try taking them to any hardware store. They might make provisions for recycling items like electric heaters. However, even if they don’t, they’ll also find a use for them, so this is another option that helps you dispose of your waste in an environmentally conscious manner.
Conclusion
It has become imperative that we resort to environmentally conscious ways to dispose of our waste for several reasons. For one, our resources are quickly depleted, and recycling puts a hold on that by providing alternative materials that can be reused countlessly.
Another reason is the environmental impact of disposing of our waste wrongly. So, this article has explored several options for disposing of electric heaters properly. On that note, we hope you read up and make better and more environmentally sensitive choices henceforth.
