Safety Tips

 
Electrical Safety Tips

Clothes dryers are convenient for doing laundry, but can be dangerous if not properly maintained.

Clothes dryers accounted for the largest share of appliance and tool fires from 1994 through 1998.

There were 14,300 clothes dryer fires in United States homes in 1998, causing 19 deaths and 312 injuries. Clothing inside the dryers was the most common source of ignition in these fires, followed by dust and lint.

Practice the following safety tips when using a clothes dryer:

• Do not operate the dryer without a lint filter. Be sure to clean the filters before and after use and remove accumulated lint from around the drum.
• Turn the dryer off when leaving home or before going to sleep.
• Keep the area around the dryer clear of combustibles.
• Make sure the dryer is plugged into an outlet suitable for its electrical needs. Overloaded electrical outlets can cause fuses to blow or trip circuit breakers.
• Always have a dryer serviced and installed by a professional.
• Gas-powered dryers should be routinely inspected by a professional to ensure the gas line and connection are intact.

The reasonable assumption is that most thieves are opportunists, and they'll choose an easier target over a more difficult one most of the time. If it takes too long to gain entry, if breaking in will create too much noise, and if once inside, there are still further obstacles such as motion sensors and alarms, then the chances of getting caught increase. If you do enough of the right things to raise the risk factor sufficiently, the balance begins to shift in your favour.

According to crime prevention authorities, 20 percent of all intruders break into homes through windows. There is a lot people can do to protect their residence.

Start at the front door when assessing your home for safety. Your  front door should have a peep hole and a strong lock.  If your locksets appear worn or have a sloppy feel to them, your first step is to replace them with new, quality units. The difference between a flimsy lockset and a good one is only about $10, and this first line of defence is no place to skimp.  What we recommend is a double cylinder deadbolt lock.

Any door that leads to the outdoors or to your garage also needs a deadbolt lock just in case an intruder makes his way into the garage. Since electric devices can deactivate electric door openers, homeowners might want to consider padlocks at the end of the garage door's slide lock.

If you have a sliding door, its lock is the weak link in your perimeter defence. The simplest and most effective solution is to install a patio security bar.

There are plenty of ways to reinforce windows, too.

One is drilling a hole completely through the first sash and halfway through the second on both corners and inserting a double headed or cement nail where the head of the nail is flush with the sash.

On the outside, you can use gardening to improve security.

Surround some of your access areas with rock mulch.  That way if a person tries to come around the residence they can be heard.

Breaking and entering is a lot easier in the dark, so a motion-sensing floodlight is a good idea. Because a new light will require some new wiring and an indoor switch, check with local code authorities before starting the work.

Inside you can install home security alarms.  There are motion sensing alarms that sense heat movement within 20 ft. and sound a 100 dB alarm. It's activated by a compact remote that fits a key ring. To install it, pick a spot in the ceiling above a traffic area.

It is also important to make sure that authorities can find your home.   Making sure the address numbers on the house are big and clear and contrast with the color of the home.

Homeowners should go around their home with a camcorder and get shots of all items, including serial numbers.  Then put the tape in a safety deposit box. That way if property is stolen, the tape will be in a safe place and seeing the items will give police a better chance of recovering them.