Tips for Maintaining Home Safety

<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0cm 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">Tips for Maintaining Home Safety</font></h2><p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt">(ARA) – Winter here which means more time spent indoors. Before you become housebound, take some time to conduct a safety check inside and around your home.</span></p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt"><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Interior designer Lisa Bonneville, American Society of Interior Designers Fellow in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., and author of a new book on designing a safe home, cautions homeowners that maintaining safety is an ongoing process. She suggests creating a maintenance plan that details what to check, when to check it, and a regular cleaning schedule. These will help you identify items that may need replacing or repair.</p><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/1b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/1b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div>  <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal">A comprehensive maintenance plan needs to address all three areas of home safety: health, injury and security. Falls and fires are the most common hazards in the home, and preventing them should be your highest priority. A fire extinguisher in good operating condition should be ready-to-hand in the kitchen, garage, workshop and any room where there is an open flame, such as from a fireplace, wood burning stove or candles. Test smoke alarms and replace batteries, if needed. Consider installing an alarm system with fire and carbon monoxide alarms that are monitored around the clock.<span>  </span></p>  <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal">If you use a fireplace, keep children and pets away from the hearth and tools. Be aware that fumes and smoke from a fireplace may be drawn back into the house if exhaust fans are being used in the kitchen or bathroom while a fire is burning.<span>  </span>Adding glass doors to a fireplace helps protect against flying cinders and reduces back drafting.</p>  <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Slippery surfaces are a major cause of falls in the home. Keep tile and linoleum floors dry, and secure the edges of area rugs with carpet tape so they do not slide when stepped on. Doorways should be unobstructed and able to fully open in both directions. Check steps, stairs and banisters for wear or weaknesses.<span>  </span>Uncarpeted stairs should have nonskid treads or tape. Avoid using patterned carpet on stairs, as it does not provide enough contrast to distinguish one step from the next, and make sure stairwells are well lit at all hours.</p>  <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Humans are not the only creatures that do not like the cold. Rodents, birds and insects enter homes, damage structure and create unhealthy environments by spreading disease, droppings, dander, and eating wood, insulation, food, water and the like. Keep them out in order to preserve a safe and healthy home. Pest-proof your home by closing up openings in the foundation, walls, doors, windows and attic. Cover vents with mesh, and block areas under porches, steps and elevated foundations with mesh wire to keep animals from nesting in unreachable areas. Store firewood away from the house, and secure lids on garbage cans and other receptacles.<span>  </span></p><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/2b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/2b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div></span></p>  <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Maintaining a safe home does not need to be costly or time-consuming. Taking the time to routinely check for possible hazards as you do your cleaning or other chores will keep your home in good condition and provide you with peace of mind throughout the holidays and all the winter months.</p>  <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt">Courtesy ARAcontent</span></p></span>