Safety in the Home: Hazard Prevention
Everyone wants to be safe in their home. It is the one place where you can retreat from the world, shut the doors, close the blinds, and just enjoy the peace and serenity of your own little world. Unfortunately, in the home, there are often hidden hazards that people are not always aware of. There is no cause for alarm though, because with a little bit of awareness and prevention you can make your home a much safer place to live.
Old Wiring
How old is your home? Older homes, obviously, use older wiring and electricity changes quite a bit. Modern appliances have a different power draw than older ones did and can strain older wiring systems in the home.
If you have fuses that get blown regularly this may indicate a problem with the wiring in your home. The problem may be solved simply by making sure that copper adapters are properly installed at certain junctions in the wiring. You’ll want to hire a professional to do this if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing, because electricity is an angry old man you don’t want to mess with.
The surge protectors you have all of your appliances plugged into, when was the last time you had them replaced? Like every other electronic device, a surge protector has a limited life-span. Faulty surge protectors may perform their job poorly if at all.
When wiring and electricity go bad the best case is a blown fuse or two, the worst is a fire hazard.
Airborne Contaminants
In the United States, their Environmental Protection Agency found that the air quality inside of a building could be up to 90 times more contaminated than the air outside. This may seem outrageous until you start considering how the modern home is designed.
The “energy efficiency” model of the contemporary home is designed to seal the home, allowing air to flow in but not to flow out. Tightly sealed windows and doors help keep the internal temperature regulated but the air becomes recirculated. This itself is not bad but it does encourage bad particulates to take up a long term residence in the home.
Mold is one of the primary offenders contaminating the air in a home. It is most likely to grow in cool damp environments, which makes the bathroom the most likely habitat. By making sure your bathroom or any other similar area in your home is well ventilated you can reduce a buildup of mold.
Carbon monoxide is one of the most dangerous chemicals that can exist in a home. The infamous odorless and colorless gas is deadly and has been the cause of more than a few deaths in recent years. It is commonly emitted by larger home appliances such as dryers, water heaters, stoves, and other fuel burning appliances. Make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are working and change their batteries regularly.
Pesky Pests
When spring shows up and that adorable little bird makes a nest in one of your home’s exterior vents it is just simply wonderful isn’t it? It would be if birds weren’t covered in fleas or mites.
When the weather warms up take a walk around your home to make sure you don’t have any unwanted tenants taking up space in your vents. A bird nesting in your attic gives their tiny little commuters easy access to your home. Once mites and fleas make it inside your home and begin breeding, getting them out can become a costly affair.
Be aware
You don’t need to become a paranoid homeowner. Just become a conscious one. Anything that can pose a hazard to your home should be treated with respect. Keep power cords bundled, the air clean, and dust and fur away anything that heats up. When your home is safe and hazard-free you’ll love it all the more.
Dennis Aimes is a writer with AAMI life insurance who loves helping people feel safe and secure in their homes and their lives.
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