General Home Safety

[minisoji]

How to burn candles safely

Step1
Never leave a burning candle unattended.

Step2
Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets.

Step3
Always burn candles on a heat/fire resistant surface.

Step4
Always keep candles well away from flammable materials like curtains, lampshades, decorative items, plants etc.

Step5
Even if your candle is set on a heat/fire resistant plate or candle holder, be sure that the candle holder itself is placed on a safe stable surface.

Step6
Keep your wicks trimmed. This is essential for the candle to burn cleanly, safely and without smoking. Trim your wick to about 1/4" every time you burn them.

Step7
Keep candles out of drafty locations.

Step8
Keep wick trimmings and other debris out of the pool of melted wax.

Step9
Never move a lighted candle.

Step10
Don't burn a candle longer than 1 hour for each inch of its diameter. That is, don't burn a 2" votive more than 2 hours...or a 4" pillar for more than 4 hours.

Step11
Don't burn candles all the way down. Leave an inch or two at the bottom of pillars, and at least a half inch with votives and container candles.

Step12
Don't burn a defective candle. If it's not burning properly - if it's sputtering or smoking or the flame is burning too high - don't burn it. Just make or get out another one that will burn properly.

Step13
Extinguish the candle properly. Using a candle snuffer is by far the best way to put out a candle. But in the absence of a snuffer, use the forefinger candle blowing technique.

[minisoji]

Fire Escape Plan

Step1
Install smoke alarms throughout your house. Make sure there is an alarm near every bedroom and on every floor of your home. Don’t forget the basement. Smoke alarms all have a testing mechanism—usually a button. Test them all monthly to make sure they’re in good working order. You should also have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. These should be tested once every six months.

Step2
Begin with a walk-through of your house. Check to see that all doors and windows are accessible. Make sure that they unlock and open easily. If you have doors and windows with burglar bars, make sure that they have a safety or quick-release latches on them. Check to see that stairs and inside and outside doorways are clear of any obstacles.
Teach every family member how to lock and unlock windows, doors and security bars.
Step3

Draw up a floor plan for each floor of your home with all the doors and windows included. Make sure that each room of the house has two ways out and mark these on your plans. There should be a ladder for any above ground floors.

Step4
Teach your family the plan with your sketches and then with practice fire drills. Make sure to use both escape routes for each room in your practices. Repetition is the best teacher for emergency readiness. Don’t forget to test your plan when the family is asleep as this is when and why most people are injured or killed by fire.

Step5
Cover special needs. Plans must be made for anyone in the house who may need assistance to get out. Young children, the disabled, the elderly and pets must have a buddy to look out for them in emergency situations. Special fire alarms that vibrate or use flashing or strobe lights are available for the deaf or hearing impaired.

Step6
Set the particulars. Choose a spot outside for everyone to meet after they get out of the house. Pick someone to be responsible for calling 911-pick a neighbor to go to in the event that no one brought out a working cell phone. Make sure everyone knows that the #1 rule in a fire is that once you get out of a burning building, you never go back in.

Step7
Practice. Make copies and post the fire escape plan in every bedroom and each room that family members spend time in. Have a few drills to get everyone familiar with the plan and work out any glitches you find. When it all seems to go pretty smoothly, plan one when most of the family is asleep and see how it actually would work. Do this a few times, too, until you know that everyone can follow it completely.

[minisoji]

How to Get Rid of Bats

Step1
Find where the bats are roosting and then look for the entryways, usually an attic, chimney, under shutters and siding, in roof tiles, soffits and eaves. A bat can get in trough an opening as small as 1/4-inch by 5/8-inch. Go out at dusk and observe where they are emerging.

Step2
Attach excluders over every opening. These devices allow bats to exit, but not re-enter. They consist of small pieces of window screen stapled over the opening at the top so the bats can push out to exit. After the bat exits, the excluder flaps shut and he can't figure out how to get back in.

Step3
Leave the exclusion screens in place seven to ten days to give the bats a chance to exit. This will ensure that you get rid of every bat.

Step4
Remove the screens and seal all the openings with caulk, cement, or steel wool or nail small boards over them.

[sergioB]

nice info! safty allways first...