Safety Category
We use glass in our homes because it lets light in and gives us a clear view of the outside, but there’s no denying that glass poses security and safety risks. For one thing, it’s breakable, which makes it easy for intruders to get through. Plus, when it breaks by accident, it creates a lot of shards and bits that can be dangerous to anyone who touches them. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to take certain steps to make sure your glass doors and windows stay secure and keep your family safe. Here are some things to keep in mind.
1. Use shatterproof glass: Surprisingly, shatterproof glass is not standard in the home construction industry, mainly because it’s more expensive and, in some people’s minds, not as attractive as regular glass. To make your home more secure, consider installing double-paned, shatterproof glass in any windows that may be accessible from the outside. Also make sure that any glass doors are made of unbreakable material.
2. Install bars over first-floor windows: Metal bars over windows are usually reserved for inner-city neighborhoods where there is a relatively high crime risk. But the fact is that break-ins can happen anywhere, and if you want to be as secure as possible, it can’t hurt to install some metal guards on any windows that are easily accessible from the outside. They don’t have to be those narrow, prison-like bars that you see on some buildings. There are many different designs you can use, including some highly decorative ones that are actually quite attractive.
3. Use casement windows: Casement windows are opened from the inside by a crank, and they’re easy to lock. Unlike standard windows, they can’t be simply pushed up from the outside any time they’re unlocked.
4. Use a blocker on sliding doors: Sliding doors do lock, but their locks clearly aren’t as robust as the types of latches and bolts that we usually have on our front doors. To make your sliding door extra secure, find a nice, thick piece of wood and insert it into the sliding door’s track.
5. Use alarms and decals: Finally, you might be surprised by how effective it is simply to have security decals on your windows indicating that you have an automatic security device installed. Of course, having decals on their own can have a great effect, but it’s not nearly as good as having an actual alarm system. If you have glass doors and windows that you’re worried about, consider outfitting them with alarms.
Did you know that indoor air quality can be worse than the air outdoors? Unlike outside, where wide open spaces and continuous breezes tend to diffuse pollution, the inside of a home is a closed-in space that gathers pollutants and holds them in. Even when you open your windows and have a well-ventilated home, pollutants tend to linger and, over time, can cause respiratory problems. These pollutants can include anything from dust, to lead, to radon, to ordinary smog—none of which are things that you want to be breathing in large quantities.
Here are five things you can do to get rid of air pollution in the home.
1. Keep your floors clean. Floors tend to accumulate much of the dust that can rise into the air and present a threat of respiratory problems. In both hardwood floor and carpet, pollutants can build up not only on the surface but also below the carpet or floorboards. Be sure to keep the floors as fresh as possible, cleaning once a week, and consider having old carpet or hardwood flooring replaced every few years. Also, keep a mat at the front door so that there’s less chance of tracking in dust.
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If your home workshop is like most, then you probably have numerous potentially dangerous objects all in that one little space. This is just part of having a workshop, and if you don’t have a lot of sharp objects or potential fire hazards, then you’re probably doing something wrong. But just because workshops are by nature a little dangerous doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take the proper steps to stay safe. Taking these safety steps is the responsible thing to do, and it can even save lives.
Wear the proper attire, including safety items: Whenever you’re going to be working in your workshop, it’s important not to wear any loose clothing. Wear no necklaces, tuck in your shirt, and avoid wearing anything baggy. Also, it’s a good idea to wear thick shoes, and it’s good to have thick work gloves and safety goggles.
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If you live in a tornado-prone area, it’s only a matter of time before your house falls into the path of a damaging twister. When this event happens, you don’t want to be left without a safe area in your home to protect your family. The most serious tornados can have winds of up to 200 miles per hour, which is more than enough to take off roofs, throw trees and other large debris around, and even to uproot houses from their foundations. The only way to protect against potential harm to your family in this event is to have an impregnable room either within or outside your house where your family can wait out the storm.
Tornado shelter design
Whether your tornado shelter is inside or outside of your home, there are a few things that it needs to have. For one, it needs to have an impact-resistant shell made of multiple layers of wood, steel, and reinforced concrete. It also needs to be strongly rooted on a concrete slab that cannot be lifted out of the ground. If the shelter is inside of the home, this slab needs to be independent of the home’s foundation.
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Radon is a radioactive, cancer-causing gas that is thought to cause around 21,000 deaths per year, mostly due to lung cancer. The gas is odorless and tasteless and thus cannot be detected without special instruments. It results from the natural breakdown of substances in the soil, and it can get into the basements of all types of buildings all around the world. Thus, it is crucial for all households to undergo radon testing and to take steps to ensure that it doesn’t get inside. Here’s what you can do.
There are two types of tests that homeowners can use:
- Short-term tests: Short-term testing kits check radon for a
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As adults, it’s not often that we get down on our hands and knees and view the world from a child’s perspective. But if you really look closely, you may notice that there are countless things in a typical house that could potentially pose dangers to an unwitting child. Household injuries are fairly common among kids under the age of 3, so it’s our responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen. If you’re planning for your firstborn or are simply welcoming a young guest into your household, then you might want to seriously consider taking these steps for childproofing the home.
1. Remove choking hazards: Make sure that there are no
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Home burglaries have gone down in recent decades thanks to heavier locks and electronic security systems, but this doesn’t mean that the problem has gone away. In fact, according to FBI crime reports, the U.S. saw 1.5 million home break-ins in 2006 alone, costing billions in damages and lost goods. But if you want to keep burglars from breaking into your home, you don’t necessarily have to drop a fortune. Just follow these simple tips for preventing home break-ins.
1. Make your home look occupied: Most burglaries occur during the day when no one is home, and many others take place when homeowners are out of town or on vacation. You can prevent burglars from breaking in simply by leaving a few lights on (but use fluorescent bulbs to save money) and even keeping a radio or television on.
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According to numerous studies, fires and burns are among the top leading causes of injury and death in the home. Fire safety at home involves employing smart practices as you go about your everyday activities, but it also goes back to basic preparation. Here are some of the most important tips for preventing fire in your home.
1. Have a fire escape plan: Make a plan for how your family will get out of the home should a fire break out at night or any other time of the day. Plan how each family member will exit from his or her room, and establish a meeting place outside. Also, although it may sound silly, it’s a good idea to have at least two home fire drills a year.
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If you live in an area that doesn’t usually get hurricanes, then your home may not be equipped with the thick windowpanes and hurricane shutters that many people in storm-prone areas have as a matter of routine. In this case, in the unlikely event that a hurricane is being predicted for your area, you might want to look into smart practices for boarding up your windows to prevent breakage and potential internal damage to your home.
Most relevant authorities recommend boarding up with at least one layer of 5/8-inch thick plywood. However, if you can manage to get a thicker wood or to apply multiple layers, it cannot hurt to go beyond the minimum recommendation. Also, keep in mind that boarding up windows is typically a two person job, as you’ll likely be working with large panels that will require someone to hold them up while another person attaches them. Try to get this work done before the weather becomes too bad, as heavy winds can make it hard to maneuver these plywood panels.
Step 1: If you have a wood-framed home, mark locations of the studs on both sides and underneath the window. If the studs are not immediately apparent, you might have to use a drill to do a little bit of probing.
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Most power tools are easy and even fun to use, and this can obscure the fact that power tools can be dangerous. Mishaps can lead to serious injury to oneself or others, and they can even lead to death in serious cases. Thus, power tool safety is nothing to joke about. Sure, we all want to enjoy the work we do around the house, but we must be serious when it comes to safety. Here are some of the most important power tool safety tips to keep in mind.
1. Safety glasses: Whenever you use a tool that is going to create debris such as fiberglass shards, dust, or wood shavings, wear safety glasses. Also make sure that anyone else in the room wears glasses as well.
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