Household Tips

No one likes to think of the possibility of a house fire. But no one wants to be caught unaware by one either!

Pella’s sage advice for fire safety planning begins with making sure that doors and windows all open easily! For the safety of your loved ones, make sure all windows and doors open easily and close completely before the winter months set in.

Safe windows are also critical to a safe escape in the event of fire. Less than 25 percent of U.S. families have developed and practiced a plan for exiting the home safely in case of a fire, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Adults practice fire drills at work, and children practice them at school, but the reality is that most deadly and frequent fires occur in the home.

“Take a few minutes now to reduce potential fire hazards and plan and practice a home fire safety escape route to help you protect what’s most important — your loved ones,” said Kathy Krafka Harkema, Pella Corporation’s fire safety educator.

Many home fires occur as temperatures drop and families spend more time indoors, lighting candles and fires, and using heating, cooking and other appliances. Most home cooking fires occur when ovens, stoves or other appliances are left unattended in use. For greater safety, never leave appliances unattended when cooking.

Begin a home fire safety drill by drawing a floor plan of each level of your home. Next, designate two exits from every room in your home — a door and a window. Make sure doors and windows open quickly and easily to help ensure a quick exit; if not, consider replacing them for safety’s sake.

In the event of a fire, train your family to gather in a designated meeting place safely outside your home. More home fire safety tips from Pella’s Close the door on fire! campaign are available at http://www.pella.com/about/fire.asp.

And don’t forget the pantry chart for emergency planning!

Once, when I was about fourteen or fifteen years old, my brother and I were home for the summer and he was playing with something in the garage, or his models or some semi-dangerous machine. Whatever it was, I seem to have forgotten the specifics. However, a chemical, and I think it was gas, oil or some derivative thereof, splashed into his eye. He came running to me and we immediately flushed his eye with a lot of lukewarm water. His eye was burning a little bit but he could see and wasn’t in extreme pain.

I called the Poison Control Center! (great sister, eh?) I spoke to a really nice lady who walked us through what to do, rinsing the eye, staying out of the sun, taking it easy, monitoring the eye, going to the doctor if there were any changes. She was really nice and helpful and praised us for calling, and never once made us feel as though we had done something bad, because, dur! we hadn’t. What impressed me the most was that later that evening, around dinner time, the phone rang and it was for me. The same lady from the Poison Control call center was calling back to talk to me with the intent of checking on my brother*. I was really floored and have never forgotten how helpful and reassuring they were that day.

So, today, I take this time to pass on to you, fellow readers, a gentle reminder about chemicals in your home and where you keep toxic substances.

All of the information below can also be found online at the Poison Control Center Website…

Store Poisons Safely
• Store medicines and household products locked up, where children cannot see or reach them.
• Keep poisons in their original containers.
• Use child-resistant packaging. But remember — nothing is child-proof! You really must WATCH your children at all times.

Use Poisons Safely
• Read the label. Follow the directions on medicines and products.
• Are children around? Take the product or medicine with you to answer the door or the phone.
• Lock products and medicines up after using them.
• Is it medicine? Call it medicine, not candy.
• Children learn by imitation. Take your medicines where children can’t watch.

Teach Children to Ask First
• Poisons can look like food or drink. Teach children to ask an adult before eating or drinking anything!
If you think someone has been poisoned, call your poison center right away — 1-800-222-1222.

Just Facts:
92 percent of all poison exposures occur in the home
52 percent of poison exposures occur in children under the age of six

*Brother is very much fine right now. I doubt he even remembers this incident.

I came home the other night to find my lower level smoke detector beeping in that incessant every-thirty-seconds-beep-thing it does when it needs a new diaper or wants to be burped, or maybe just have its battery changed.

As I am the husband in my marriage (please note: I am female. All female. Born, raised and practicing.) I dutifully got the step ladder and began my inspection.

I managed to remove the alarm from the ceiling but soon found that it only dangled about one inch from because it is hard-wired into the house power.

I totally swore there was no battery in the damn alarm. But? NOTHING made the beeping stop. And, poor Gromit the cat had began to walk into wall every ten steps.

Then I did what any bride-to-be would do if her fiancée was standing right there while she was struggling with the smoke detector. I called my Daddy. He told me that if there really isn’t a battery back-up then I would need to find the breaker that controls that specific smoke detector and turn off the power and then disconnect the wires. Urgh!

I squeezed the plugs on the wire connector and on my last tug, it came free. It wasn’t until after thorough examination of the alarm and planning my trip to Home Depot did I find that there was a small little battery door.

Battery back-up!

Battery back-up!

The battery inside was most likely the original battery used upon installation. FIVE years ago.

We just bought the house in December, and, I haven’t gotten around to all those details quite yet. It is recommended that you change the batteries in your smoke detector each time you turn the clocks ahead or back for Daylight Savings Time.

I had one extra 9 volt battery and was able to change it and reinstall the fixture in a matter of minutes. It was a simple maintenance issue and I’m glad it happened. Now, I have to replace three other batteries as well in other detectors.

Safety Reminder: Change the batteries in your smoke detector! If you can’t remember the last time you did it, or if you just bought a home, DO IT NOW. It could totally save your life.

smoke detector, batteries, 9 volt, household safety, house fire, smoke alarm