Winter Safety Series: Your Home #wintersafety

Part 2 of our Winter Safety Series focus's on your Home and some vital safety tips that relate to winter weatherproofing your house, apartment, or other mansion on the hill.

Weatherproof your home: Prepare before winter hits with some of these tips

• Winterize your home.
  • Install weather stripping, insulation, and storm windows.
  • Insulate water lines that run along exterior walls.
  • Clean out gutters and repair roof leaks.
  • Disconnect your outdoor garden hoses from the faucets and cover the valves.If possible shut off outside water valves 
  • Wrap water pipes in your basement or crawl spaces with insulation sleeves to slow heat transfer.
  • Consider an insulated blanket for your hot water heater.
  • Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through faucets connected to pipes that run through unheated or unprotected spaces.
  
  
  
  
  
• Check your heating systems.
  • Have your heating system serviced professionally to make sure that it is clean, working properly, and ventilated to the outside.
  • Inspect and clean fireplaces and chimneys. Have a chimney sweep come out to evaluate and clean your chimney good. 
  • If you have a fireplace, keep the flue closed when you're not using it
  • Install a smoke detector. Test batteries monthly and replace them twice a year.
  • Have a safe alternate heating source and alternate fuels available. If using kerosene heaters, make absolute sure you have kerosene and not gasoline to refill them. You would be surprised how often people mistakenly use the wrong thing.
  • Prevent carbon monoxide (CO) emergencies.
    • Install a CO detector to alert you of the presence of the deadly, odorless, colorless gas. Check batteries when you change your clocks in the fall and spring.
    • Learn symptoms of CO poisoning: headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.

Protect your family from carbon monoxide.

• Keep grills, camp stoves, and generators out of the house, basement and garage.
• Locate generators at least 20 feet from the house.
• Leave your home immediately if the CO detector sounds, and call 911.

Please take time to do the little things around your home before a night of bitter cold arrives and catches you off guard.
Just as you did with your car/vehicle it is also wise to have an emergency box or bag prepared for your house with essentials in case of power outages or emergencies.

Some essentials to put in your Home Emergency Kit are :

• Flashlights with extra batteries (all sizes)
• Candles with a lighting source like kitchen matches or a lighter
• Glow sticks - perfect if you have kids for a night light
• A list of all emergency numbers, laminate this and keep in your kit
• Protein or Energy snacks, canned fruits or other easy to keep meals- we have MRE's or meals ready to eat(military type meals)
• Water - a good idea to keep a case of bottled water in your basement or closet for emergencies

 I hope this information helps you this winter to stay safe and warm at home. Come back tomorrow for information about winter safety and your health.

Do You Have a Happy Toxic Home?

Shared from Naked Health

March 27, 2012 Public Policy, Safety
By Jen Talley

Do you really know what’s under your kitchen sink, on the garage shelf, or stashed away in the bathroom and laundry room? You use these cleaning products all the time, but you may have never considered what’s actually in them, and the effect it might have on your family’s health. Many contain chemicals associated with eye, skin, and respiratory irritation, and some have been linked to asthma, birth defects, and certain cancers.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports more than 210,000 calls to poison control centers in 2009 about household products. 125,000 of those calls concerned children under the age of five, who likely found toxic chemicals close at hand in their kitchens and bathrooms.
You might be surprised at some of the worst offenders; these cleaning products contain chemicals and ingredients suspected or known to be health hazards, but they are easily found at every grocery store.
Ammonia
All-purpose cleaners often contain ammonia and chlorine bleach. Ammonia can cause severe eye irritation, headaches and lung damage. At higher concentrations, ammonia exposure can leave chemical burns or cause severe damage to eyes and respiratory tract. Bleach can be fatal if swallowed by children or pets, and combining ammonia and chlorine bleach can create  ammonia gas, which can be fatal if inhaled.
Ammonia is also extremely poisonous to fish and other aquatic life, even in small amounts. That means that any ammonia you wash down the drain could potentially contribute to the poisoning of your water supply.
Air Fresheners
Another potentially harmful product that may surprise you: air fresheners. Although the spray-type products are made to  to be released into the air in your home, many contain extremely toxic chemicals that can aggravate respiratory problems like asthma. Some also contain phthalates, which have been shown to cause damage to the reproductive and endocrine systems, as well as being linked to some cancers and birth defects. Since the U.S. government doesn’t require companies to disclose the ingredients in these type of products, the toxins may not even be listed on the container.
Para-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB) is a chemical is found in solid products, like air fresheners, mothballs, and deodorizers for toilets and trashcans. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified p-DCB as a possible carcinogen; limited exposure can cause eye irritation and swelling, headaches, and nausea. It’s been shown to cause kidney and liver damage in animals.
Antibacterial Products
Many antibacterial soaps, body washes, and cosmetic products contain triclosan, which has been found to negatively impact hormone regulation in animals. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing whether the chemical is safe for human use. While the evidence isn’t conclusive yet, the FDA does not that there is no proof that cleaning products with triclosan provide any benefit over washing with regular soap and water. Additionally, there is some evidence to suggest that triclosan contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
Nail polish
Dibutyl phthalate, common in nail products and some makeup, is known to cause birth defects. It’s frequently detected in human blood and urine, which indicates high exposure among the U.S. population. Granted you’re not drinking your nail polish (at least, we hope not) but does this even sound like something you want in your house? It may also have endocrine-disrupting effects, may cause neurotoxicity, and is harmful to the reproductive system.
Upholstery cleaners
Acrylic acid is found in some surface and upholstery spray cleaners. This chemical compound severely irritating to the skin and respiratory tract, with the potential to produce chemical burns, and potentially harmful to a fetus if inhaled by a pregnant woman. If it got in your eyes it could cause serious injury, even permanent loss of vision.
Remember that companies advertising non-toxic cleaning products are not subject to even the somewhat lax rules food products are regarding their advertising claims. “Fresh,” “pure,” “natural,” and even “non-toxic” have no official definition; these claims aren’t regulated by any federal or state agency. It’s up to the consumer, unfortunately, to police what is under their own kitchen sink.


Time to think Green? and live life longer!