The short version: never use a gas geyser inside a closed bathroom, never sleep in a closed room with a coal angithi or a gas heater, plug heaters and geysers straight into a properly rated, earthed socket, and keep every heater at least a metre from beds and curtains. The full checklist is below. It’s free to print, share or republish with a link back.
Winter accidents with heating follow the same pattern every year. In January 2024, news agency IANS reported that 15 people had died in Delhi in a single month after inhaling fumes from angithis (coal braziers) in closed rooms. Doctors and forensic researchers have also documented fatal carbon monoxide poisoning from gas geysers fitted inside bathrooms, and cases like a Bengaluru couple who died while showering make the news most winters. Almost all of these deaths are preventable.
Room heater checklist
- Plug it straight into the wall. Most heaters need a 15/16A socket. Never run one through an extension board or a cheap adapter
- Keep 1 metre clear around the heater: beds, curtains, sofas, clothes, papers
- Don’t sleep with a fan, quartz, halogen or carbon heater on. Use an oil-filled radiator with a thermostat if you need heat overnight
- Buy one with tip-over and overheat protection, and an ISI mark
- Never dry clothes on or over a heater
- Keep a little ventilation: a slightly open door or window in a small, sealed room
- Children and elderly: use an oil-filled radiator, and put a guard around it once a baby starts crawling. See our newborn room heater guide
Angithi, coal and gas heater checklist
- Never sleep in a closed room with an angithi, coal sigri or gas heater. They produce carbon monoxide, which you can’t see or smell
- If you must use one, use it only while awake, in a ventilated room, and take it outside before sleeping
- Consider a battery carbon monoxide detector, which costs about the same as a TDS meter
- Warning signs: headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion or unusual sleepiness, often in several people at once. Get everyone into fresh air immediately and seek medical help
Electric geyser checklist
- Earthing and an RCCB: have an electrician check the earthing and fit an RCCB (residual current circuit breaker) on the bathroom circuit. It cuts power within milliseconds if current leaks
- Use a dedicated 16A socket placed outside the splash zone, ideally outside the bathroom
- Never block the pressure-release valve. A small drip from it is normal. In high-rises, buy an 8-bar rated geyser
- Switch it off before you bathe if you’re unsure about the earthing. It costs nothing and also saves power
- Set the thermostat to 50–55 °C to avoid scalds, especially with children at home
- Service it every year or two: check the anode rod, the thermostat and the valve. In hard-water areas this matters more (see our hard-water geyser guide)
- Warning signs: a tingle from the tap, a burning smell, water hotter than usual, or a geyser that never switches off. Switch off at the MCB and call a technician
Gas geyser checklist
- Never install a gas geyser inside the bathroom. Fit it outside, with a flue venting to the open air
- Keep the bathroom ventilated with an exhaust fan or an open window while hot water is running
- Don’t take long showers with a gas geyser running in an enclosed space
- Have the gas line and burner checked every year
- If you can, switch to an electric geyser. Our guides to storage geysers and instant geysers list safe options
Printable one-line checklist
| Check | Done? |
|---|---|
| Heaters plugged straight into a 15/16A wall socket | ☐ |
| 1 metre clearance around every heater | ☐ |
| Only oil-filled radiators run overnight | ☐ |
| No angithi, coal or gas heater in a closed bedroom | ☐ |
| Geyser earthed, with an RCCB on the circuit | ☐ |
| Geyser thermostat at 50–55 °C | ☐ |
| Gas geyser outside the bathroom, with a flue | ☐ |
| Everyone knows the carbon monoxide warning signs | ☐ |
Want to know what your heater or geyser is costing you? Try our heater and geyser electricity cost calculator.
This checklist gives general safety guidance. For wiring, earthing or gas installation work, use a licensed electrician or your gas agency’s technician.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to sleep with a room heater on?
Only an oil-filled radiator with a thermostat and tilt protection, placed at least a metre from the bed and curtains. Don’t sleep with a fan, quartz, halogen or gas heater running, and never with a coal angithi in a closed room.
Why are gas geysers dangerous?
A gas geyser burns LPG and needs air to do it. Fitted inside a small, closed bathroom, it can use up the oxygen and give off carbon monoxide, an invisible, odourless gas that causes drowsiness and death. Fit it outside the bathroom, with a flue to the open air, or switch to an electric geyser.
Should I switch off the geyser before taking a bath?
With proper earthing and an RCCB on the circuit, it isn’t strictly necessary. But many Indian homes have weak earthing, so switching off before you start bathing is a sensible habit, and it also saves electricity.
What are the warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning?
Headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion and drowsiness, often in several people in the same room. Get everyone into fresh air at once and seek medical help.
How far should a heater be from the bed?
At least 1 metre from beds, curtains, sofas and clothes. Never dry clothes on or over a heater.