Spending some time on home safety will help make your home as risk free as possible. The three main areas that need attention are electrical, chemical and combustible hazards, all of which are relatively easy to address.
Electrical hazards
Never overload an electric outlet with too many devices. Those cube plugs are dangerous to use, and a better substitute are power strips with a surge protector, being careful not to plug high-voltage devices in them, such as hair dryers or space heaters.- Don’t use appliances or devices that smell like burning rubber, or make strange noises or emit smoke. They should either be fixed or thrown away.
Chemical hazards
- Keep hazardous chemicals, paints or finishes in high places in clearly labeled containers. The caps should fit tightly.
- Place oily rags in tightly covered metal containers until you can throw them away. Some wood finishes, like linseed oil, can spontaneously combust as they dry. They should be soaked in water for several days, laid flat to dry, and then disposed of.
- Use caution when mixing different cleaning solutions around the house. Never mix bleach with any other cleaning product, since the fumes could be toxic.
Combustible hazards
- Make sure everyone in your family knows not to use gasoline or other flammable fluids to start fires. Charcoal lighter is the exception, since it won’t explode when it burns.
- Increase home safety by checking the smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detector batteries from time to time. CO detectors use more battery power than smoke detectors do and should be checked monthly. If you have hardwired CO or smoke detectors, they may still have battery backup.
- Remove dead vegetation from your yard because it could be a fire hazard.
- Have your furnace professionally maintained each year to reduce the risk of fire hazards. The HVAC contractor checks the flue, looks for leaks in the fuel lines, and verifies that the heat exchanger and burner have no cracks.
If you’d like to learn more about home safety and your HVAC equipment, please contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve provided top-notch HVAC services for the Twin Cities since 1974.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home safety and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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