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!

At this time of year, we start thinking that pool dangers are gone with the summer. But, according to the Consumer Product Safety Council, this is not the case! In fact, pools aren’t the only source of concern. Small children can drown in something as innocuous as a forgotten bucket of water. I suppose this falls in the categorey of MUCH rather be safe than sorry. In order to keep your home and family safe from water injuries, follow these simple rules:

The Consumer Product Safety Council recommends parents and caregivers follow these safety tips when children are around bathtubs, spas, buckets, or decorative ponds or fountains:
— Never leave young children alone near any water. Young children can drown in even small amounts of water.
— Always keep a young child within arm’s reach in a bathtub. Never leave to answer the phone, answer the door, get a towel or for any other reason. If you must leave, take the child with you.
— Don’t leave a baby or toddler in a bathtub under the care of another young child.
— Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where young children cannot reach it. Buckets left outside can collect rainwater and are a hazard.
— Prevent children from gaining access to spas or hot tubs when not in use; always secure with safety covers and barriers.
— Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.

And while you’re thinking of home safety, check out these products. No, they don’t pay me to endorse them. They’re just interesting!

water safety, child safety, household safety

GMAC, the big insurance guys, has put together a great easy-reference table of carseat information. For those of you who know nothing about carseats and even those of you who THINK you know about carseats, this is a timely and important read!

Child Passenger Restraint Guidelines

Under 1 year old and less than 20 pounds at a minimum: Rear-facing seat- keep child rear-facing as long as seat allows for maximum safety-usually up to 30 pounds

At least 1 year old and 20 to 40 pounds: Forward-facing seat with a harness- use until harness is outgrown for maximum safety

Under 4′9″ and approximately 40 to 100 pounds: Booster seat

Taller than 4′9″ and more than 80 to 100 pounds until age 13:Safety belt, but remain in back seat until age 13

* Choose wisely. The NHTSA’s 2007 Child Safety Seat Ease of Use Ratings compares 101 child safety seats (including booster seats) to allow parents to find the child safety seat that will best fit their needs.
Visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/CPS/CSSRating/Index.cfm to find which safety seat is right for your child.

* Read up. To ensure that you install your specific car seat model properly, make sure to read both the vehicle owner’s manual and the child safety seat instruction manual.

* Get inspected. As part of their Buckle Up program, Safe Kids Worldwide and GM and Chevrolet car dealerships around the country sponsor child safety seat inspections where caregivers can learn how to correctly install their child’s seat. Visit http://usa.safekids.org for upcoming Safe Kids inspection events near you.

* Stay in the back. As a rule of thumb, all children under age 13 should always be properly restrained in a rear seat.

* Restrain yourself. To encourage positive habits in your children, use a seat belt yourself on every trip. In a recent Safe Kids Buckle Up study, nearly 40 percent of children riding with unbelted drivers were completely unrestrained, compared with only 5 percent of children riding with belted drivers.

carseats

This is something none of us likes to think about. But how prepared are you for an emergency? The canned food alliance has prepared a list of what you should have stocked in your pantry — just in case. While I’m not running out to the supermarket, this IS useful. I’m imagining it’s good prep-work for impending snow storms, too!

Here is the chart: http://www.steel.org/containers/EmergencyPantryChart.pdf

When asked what form they would prefer for their emergency food supply in the event of a natural disaster, 55 percent of consumers favor canned food, over dry goods, fresh and frozen options.

The survey, conducted by the global research firm Harris Interactive, indicates that consumers recognize the important role that canned foods play in being prepared for an event such as a hurricane or tornado. It was conducted in advance of September, which the government has dubbed National Preparedness Month.

canned goods, emergency preparedness

I have to admit that I do find this a little bit creepy. I remember my little brother lusting for the latest and greatest Swiss Army knife as a pre-teen. Apparently, the knives aren’t enough any more! Swiss Tech now sells a 7-in-1 life-saving instrument. Check this out for yourself. Creepy? Or the top of your Christmas list?

The BodyGard(TM) 7-in-1 Platinum Series Emergency Tool is the newest product in Swiss+Tech’s line of emergency preparedness tools. It is designed to help drivers escape from their vehicles during an emergency by breaking the side or rear window and freeing themselves and passengers from their seatbelts.

Like the popular BodyGard(TM) 5-in-1 Emergency Tool, the new BodyGard(TM) 7-in-1 Emergency Tool combines an automatic glass breaker, seat belt cutter, sonic alarm, bright LED light and emergency flasher in a device small enough to fit on a key ring. New added features include a digital tire gauge and a thermometer.

Not only can the BodyGard(TM) be used in vehicle emergencies, it can also be used to signal for help or to ward off attackers. With the push of a button, it’s piercing sonic alarm signals trouble with a high-decibel output. It’s flashing red distress light signals for, and directs help to your location. The bright dual LED flashlight can be used for night sight and safety. The push button activated digital tire gauge has an easy to read LCD display, and the thermometer reads temperatures from 0 degrees to
120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Swiss Tech, Swiss Army Knife

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