Protecting your home from wildfires is probably not as difficult as you might think it would be, as long as you have the time and money to put into it. There are a lot of different ways to help protect your home and if you can do all of them, you just might end up saving your house.
The condition of the lawn and other vegetation around the outside of your house is usually the first line of defense, so make sure this is taken care of first. Your lawn should stay mowed and not allowed to become overgrown or dry and grass cuttings need to be raked far away from the house, but preferably taken away from the property. Trees near the home should be cut down.
Fire-resistant materials should be used in new constructions and if possible, the exterior materials of older homes should be replaced. Old homes often have vinyl or wooden siding on them and this is not fire-resistant at all, especially not compared to brick, stone, or metal. The last three materials will protect your home a lot more and you should have these installed if you are in an area that is prone to wildfires. You will thank yourself later.
The roof is perhaps the most important exterior surface of your home, since it has the largest amount of surface area. The wind carries sparks of fire on it when there are wildfires nearby and when these land on your roof, it can catch it on fire. To do away with the majority of this risk, you should have fire-resistant roofing material installed. Asphalt shingles are oil-based and will catch on fire fairly easily and so will wooden shingles. A metal roof can help solve this problem, among a few other materials available on the market today.
When a wildfire is nearby, you would also do well to keep your roof and lawn wet to discourage firebrands floating on the wind to ignite. If you must evacuate your home, you should wet the lawn down as much as possible to slow the fire from getting close to your home.
Small windows in your home instead of large ones can help, since they will radiate a lot less heat inside the house and be less likely to catch drapes and other things near the window on fire.
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
How To Stay Healthy And Reduce Mold In Your Home
Moving into a brand new home can be an exhilarating experience, but from the time you move in, you are causing wear and tear on the house’s structure. You should start taking precautions to protect your home immediately and do not let yourself think that your home cannot be easily damaged, because it can. Mold gets into the house quickly and silently, but there are a lot of things that you can do to protect your home and your family from it.
If the house is a new construction and was inspected for mold before it was completed and found clean, then you are off to a great start. As long as your bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, and basement are properly waterproofed, you should be fairly safe for a while, but part of the process of keeping mold almost completely out of your home means keeping it out of the air you breathe. This is easiest done with the application of HEPA filters to certain appliances in your home.
The vacuum cleaner from your old home should be replaced with one that has a HEPA filter on it. Your old vacuum cleaner that does not have one releases the dirt and other particles it collects back into the air instead of capturing them the way that it should. This is important if you want to keep as much particle debris out of your new carpet as possible, especially mold spores. Mold loves to grow in carpet, especially wet carpet, so you should try not to allow it to be wet for very long at a time. Soak up any spills of liquid as quickly as you can and be sure to vacuum your carpet evenly and move furniture, if you have to. Carpet gets dirty under the furniture, too, and vacuuming only one section of the carpet can cause uneven color fading over time.
HEPA filters are also used in air purification systems to keep the air that we breathe clean on a consistent basis. The filter will remove up to 99.7% of all particles in the air, including mold spores, pollen, smoke particles, dust mites, and etcetera. This is a great thing to have, especially if any of your family members suffer from allergies or other respiratory ailments.
A new vacuum cleaner and an air purification system that both use HEPA filters will assist in keeping mold out of your home and out of your bodies.
If the house is a new construction and was inspected for mold before it was completed and found clean, then you are off to a great start. As long as your bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, and basement are properly waterproofed, you should be fairly safe for a while, but part of the process of keeping mold almost completely out of your home means keeping it out of the air you breathe. This is easiest done with the application of HEPA filters to certain appliances in your home.
The vacuum cleaner from your old home should be replaced with one that has a HEPA filter on it. Your old vacuum cleaner that does not have one releases the dirt and other particles it collects back into the air instead of capturing them the way that it should. This is important if you want to keep as much particle debris out of your new carpet as possible, especially mold spores. Mold loves to grow in carpet, especially wet carpet, so you should try not to allow it to be wet for very long at a time. Soak up any spills of liquid as quickly as you can and be sure to vacuum your carpet evenly and move furniture, if you have to. Carpet gets dirty under the furniture, too, and vacuuming only one section of the carpet can cause uneven color fading over time.
HEPA filters are also used in air purification systems to keep the air that we breathe clean on a consistent basis. The filter will remove up to 99.7% of all particles in the air, including mold spores, pollen, smoke particles, dust mites, and etcetera. This is a great thing to have, especially if any of your family members suffer from allergies or other respiratory ailments.
A new vacuum cleaner and an air purification system that both use HEPA filters will assist in keeping mold out of your home and out of your bodies.
House Fire Sources
Fires can start in the house a number of different ways and knowing as much as you can about fire safety in the home is important in preventing this from happening.
Cooking in the kitchen poses the most amount of risk, but since most people have to do this to survive because they cannot afford to eat out all the time, it must be done. Safety comes first and this means that you should not leave anything on the stove unattended in the kitchen. If you do have to leave, turn it off or leave someone in the kitchen to watch it for you.
Space heaters that you using during the winter time can also present a substantial amount of risk if you do not know where you can safely place them in your home. They should never be put near furniture, curtains, or any other fabric item. Something else you need to know is that extension cords should never be used with appliances that use a lot of electricity or put out a large amount of heat. Electric skillets and deep fryers fall into this category along with space heaters and if you use a normal household extension cord with them, they will melt. If you have to use one, use a heavy duty one that is normally used outside.
If you smoke, this is another possible source of fire in the house. If you have to dump out cigarette ashes, make sure everything in the tray is completely put out. Something you should never do is smoke while you are in bed. Do not let yourself become too relaxed in a chair, either, since you may end up falling asleep and dropping the cigarette, either on the chair, bed, the floor, or yourself.
Chemicals that are flammable like gas and turpentine should be kept outside the house, preferably in a separate building. This way, if they catch on fire for some reason, the extra building will be on fire and not your home.
Electric blankets are also a great convenience, but the bad thing about these is that people tend to leave them on all night while they are sleeping instead of just using them to heat up the bed. Beds catch on fire due to improper use of these, so never leave the house while they are on and never leave them on while you are asleep.
Cooking in the kitchen poses the most amount of risk, but since most people have to do this to survive because they cannot afford to eat out all the time, it must be done. Safety comes first and this means that you should not leave anything on the stove unattended in the kitchen. If you do have to leave, turn it off or leave someone in the kitchen to watch it for you.
Space heaters that you using during the winter time can also present a substantial amount of risk if you do not know where you can safely place them in your home. They should never be put near furniture, curtains, or any other fabric item. Something else you need to know is that extension cords should never be used with appliances that use a lot of electricity or put out a large amount of heat. Electric skillets and deep fryers fall into this category along with space heaters and if you use a normal household extension cord with them, they will melt. If you have to use one, use a heavy duty one that is normally used outside.
If you smoke, this is another possible source of fire in the house. If you have to dump out cigarette ashes, make sure everything in the tray is completely put out. Something you should never do is smoke while you are in bed. Do not let yourself become too relaxed in a chair, either, since you may end up falling asleep and dropping the cigarette, either on the chair, bed, the floor, or yourself.
Chemicals that are flammable like gas and turpentine should be kept outside the house, preferably in a separate building. This way, if they catch on fire for some reason, the extra building will be on fire and not your home.
Electric blankets are also a great convenience, but the bad thing about these is that people tend to leave them on all night while they are sleeping instead of just using them to heat up the bed. Beds catch on fire due to improper use of these, so never leave the house while they are on and never leave them on while you are asleep.
Fire Safety For Home Buyers
Buying a home for the first time can be pretty intimidating, but the thought of losing that new home to a fire is a whole lot scarier. For those of you who are purchasing a home for the first time, one of the first things that you need to learn about is fire safety. Your home is likely to be the biggest investment you will ever have at any one time and protecting it is something that should be at the front of your mind at all times. There are a lot of different things in your home that can cause a fire and most of them can be avoided if you know what to do.
An unfortunate fact is that most house fires start in the kitchen and because people simply are not paying attention to what they are doing. Becoming preoccupied with other chores or things in the house, like the television or family members, is one of the worst things that you can do while you are cooking dinner or any other meal. If you have to answer the phone, make sure it is in the kitchen and that it stays with you in the kitchen at all times. You should never, for any reason, leave the house while you are cooking unless someone will be there to watch the stove while you are gone.
Grease fires are also common in the kitchen, even though most of them are small and easily put out. Most of these are not reported for this very reason, masking just how common they really are. Be ready for a grease fire by heating oil slowly, having a pot lid the size of the pan you are using to smother the fire, and some baking soda in case it starts underneath the burner. Fires start under stove burners most often because they have gotten grease on them or under them and have not been cleaned out as they should be. Put these out with baking soda, but you should also have a fire extinguisher at hand in case the fire gets out of control.
You also need to be careful when you are using deep fryers and electric skillets. Although these can have settings of up to or over 400 degrees Fahrenheit, you should not leave these appliances on at these temperatures for very long. Extension cords should also never be used with these items, unless they are heavy duty ones. Small, typical household extension cords will melt.
An unfortunate fact is that most house fires start in the kitchen and because people simply are not paying attention to what they are doing. Becoming preoccupied with other chores or things in the house, like the television or family members, is one of the worst things that you can do while you are cooking dinner or any other meal. If you have to answer the phone, make sure it is in the kitchen and that it stays with you in the kitchen at all times. You should never, for any reason, leave the house while you are cooking unless someone will be there to watch the stove while you are gone.
Grease fires are also common in the kitchen, even though most of them are small and easily put out. Most of these are not reported for this very reason, masking just how common they really are. Be ready for a grease fire by heating oil slowly, having a pot lid the size of the pan you are using to smother the fire, and some baking soda in case it starts underneath the burner. Fires start under stove burners most often because they have gotten grease on them or under them and have not been cleaned out as they should be. Put these out with baking soda, but you should also have a fire extinguisher at hand in case the fire gets out of control.
You also need to be careful when you are using deep fryers and electric skillets. Although these can have settings of up to or over 400 degrees Fahrenheit, you should not leave these appliances on at these temperatures for very long. Extension cords should also never be used with these items, unless they are heavy duty ones. Small, typical household extension cords will melt.
Cleaning Up A Smoke Damaged Home
If your home has been damaged by fire and smoke, there are a lot of things that you need to do to get your home back to livable condition. These are usually things that you can do yourself, although if you do not have the time, you can hire someone else to do them for you. No matter which one you choose, these are the things that you are going to need done to get your home back to its former condition.
Getting the smell of smoke out of the house is not going to be too easy, so open the windows and doors throughout the house and use fans to get the air circulating.
The smoke damage is going to be easier to take care of in the house than the fire, especially on the walls. Unfortunately, cleaning the soot off the walls is probably not going to be an option, since trying to wipe it off will only smear it. This means that you will have to paint over it. If you have a popcorn ceiling, you will have to strip it in order to be able to paint over it. Most popcorn ceilings make a house look outdated, anyway, so removing this will probably be a good thing, anyway.
Try not to walk on any carpet that has been affected unless you plan on removing it, anyway. If you want to try and clean it, though, you will have to vacuum it with a vacuum that does not have brushes, since they will only work the soot down into the fibers. Steam cleaning the carpet may remove the smoky smell and it may not, so you may end up having to replace the carpet.
Appliances are also going to have to be checked out and cleaned thoroughly before they can be used again. Basically every surface in your house is going to have to be cleaned spotless.
Towels, curtains, bed linens, and all other fabric items in your home will need to be washed and dried. When you dry them, try to dry them outside, if possible, since using an electric dryer to do this can set the smell of smoke further into the fabric and make it harder to get out.
No matter what, you should hold your ground against your insurance company, because if they can convince you that they do not have to pay for something (even though your contract says that they do), they will not pay for it. Make sure you know exactly what your contract covers and you should make sure that you prepare for an event like this by having at least a few months’ worth of salary saved up, since most insurance companies expect you to pay for things and then, they will reimburse you.
Getting the smell of smoke out of the house is not going to be too easy, so open the windows and doors throughout the house and use fans to get the air circulating.
The smoke damage is going to be easier to take care of in the house than the fire, especially on the walls. Unfortunately, cleaning the soot off the walls is probably not going to be an option, since trying to wipe it off will only smear it. This means that you will have to paint over it. If you have a popcorn ceiling, you will have to strip it in order to be able to paint over it. Most popcorn ceilings make a house look outdated, anyway, so removing this will probably be a good thing, anyway.
Try not to walk on any carpet that has been affected unless you plan on removing it, anyway. If you want to try and clean it, though, you will have to vacuum it with a vacuum that does not have brushes, since they will only work the soot down into the fibers. Steam cleaning the carpet may remove the smoky smell and it may not, so you may end up having to replace the carpet.
Appliances are also going to have to be checked out and cleaned thoroughly before they can be used again. Basically every surface in your house is going to have to be cleaned spotless.
Towels, curtains, bed linens, and all other fabric items in your home will need to be washed and dried. When you dry them, try to dry them outside, if possible, since using an electric dryer to do this can set the smell of smoke further into the fabric and make it harder to get out.
No matter what, you should hold your ground against your insurance company, because if they can convince you that they do not have to pay for something (even though your contract says that they do), they will not pay for it. Make sure you know exactly what your contract covers and you should make sure that you prepare for an event like this by having at least a few months’ worth of salary saved up, since most insurance companies expect you to pay for things and then, they will reimburse you.
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