Tuesday, 19 February 2013 00:00

Written by Administrator

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(Family Features) When a home fire occurs, you have very little time to get out. A working smoke alarm doubles your chances of survival, yet more than twenty percent of American homes are without them. This means roughly 23 million homes are at risk because of non-working smoke alarms and an additional 5 million homes are at risk by not having smoke alarms. Twenty-five years ago, Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs teamed up to address this problem by providing vital fire safety information to families. They recommend these tips to make a plan for keeping your family and home safe.

Make a Plan
On average, families have less than three minutes from the time the first smoke alarm sounds to escape a fire. Installing smoke alarms on every level of the home and developing a plan of escape can give your family precious minutes to get out and get to safety.

• Draw a floor plan of your home and sketch exit routes out of every room.
• Make sure you have a fire escape ladder long enough to reach the ground from upstairs rooms.
• Assign an outside meeting place, so you can quickly locate each other.

Room by Room

The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most families are asleep.

Bedrooms

• Do not trap electrical cords against walls. Heat can build up, posing a fire hazard.
• Use only lab-approved electric blankets and warmers. Make sure cords are not worn or coming apart. Do not leave electric blankets switched on all night unless they are marked “suitable for all night use.”
• Keep bedding, curtains and other combustible items at least three feet away from space heaters.
• Never smoke in bed.
• Replace mattresses made before the 2007 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard. By law, mattresses made since then are required to be safer.
• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom and outside each sleeping area.

Living Room

• Do not overload electrical outlets.
• Check electrical cords for fraying or signs of damage and don’t run them under carpets.
• Candles are responsible for almost 10,000 fires a year. Use new flameless wax candles which provide the realistic flicker of a scented wax candle without the hazard of open flame.

• Keep battery-operated flashlights and lanterns in easily accessible places in case of power failure.

Kitchen
Cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries in the United States.

• Never use extension cords to plug in cooking appliances; they can overload the circuit.
• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• Keep flammable items away from the cooktop.
• Keep the cooktop, burners and oven clean.
• Have a fire extinguisher installed in or near your kitchen. 

Garage

• Store all combustible materials in clearly marked containers away from regular sources of heat, such as water heaters, space heaters, boilers and furnaces.
• Keep flammable products in a dedicated storage container with a closed door.
• Get rid of stacked boxes, recycling and trash.

Find more fire safety information to keep your family and home safe at www.Energizer.com.

Change Your Clock Change Your Battery^®

2012 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery^® program, a partnership with Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). This program reminds people of the importance of maintaining working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to help prevent fires and keep families safe. It’s part of the Energizer platform—that’s positivenergy_™—which combines a commitment to performance in products and responsibility in partnerships and programs that make a positive impact on the world.   

Other safety prevention measures include:

• Test your smoke alarm.
• Clean the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors each month with a vacuum. 
• The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing smoke alarms every 10 years and having a combination of both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms to keep you alert to all types of home fires.

Monday, 04 February 2013 00:00

Written by Richard Gandon

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(Family Features) When the temperatures drop, the last thing you need is for your heating or plumbing system to act up. Some basic maintenance can help to ensure your home plumbing and heating systems are functioning properly. 

A regular maintenance schedule helps protect you against system or appliance failures that leave you with a crisis requiring urgent — and potentially very costly — solutions.

To help protect your home during the cold winter months, American Home Shield, one of the nation’s leading providers of home warranty services, shares some tips for making sure your heating unit and plumbing system are in good condition to handle extreme temperatures.

Heating Maintenance:

• Check filters every month.
• Make sure floor vents are not blocked to ensure clear air flow.
• Visually inspect exhaust vent for rust, damage or deterioration.
• Be familiar with the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations for your specific unit. This information is typically available online and in your owner’s guide.

Plumbing Maintenance:

• Only flush toilet paper down a toilet.
• Maintain water softener according to manufacturer's recommendations.
• Water filters and icemaker filters should be changed according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
• Avoid using your garbage disposal if you're on a septic system.
• Drain sediment from water heater tank according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
• If you aren’t familiar, locate your master valve so you can quickly turn your home's water off if a line breaks. In most homes, the valve is located near the water heater, the clothes washer, or where the water service line enters your home.
• Check the hose bibs to clothes washers to ensure they are tightly connected to minimize leaks and overuse of the system.  

Taking these steps can help keep your home systems in good working order throughout the winter. But not everyone has the time or skills to do the maintenance required.

A professional preventative maintenance program can be a time- and money-saver for homeowners. Quality service providers perform a thorough check of your home’s systems and appliances to help ensure they are operating efficiently.

To learn more about preventive maintenance recommendations for your home’s systems and appliances, visit www.ahspm.com.