Ready your homestead for a safe winter season

THINGS TO DO BEFORE WINTER

Now is the time of year when everyone is getting ready for that inevitable change of weather… they’re splitting and stacking the firewood, taking the screens off the windows and for some, putting the storm windows on.

And for the first time since before summer, lighting up those wood stoves and fireplaces.

How many took the time to check their wood stove before lighting it? Are the flues free and clear? Is the cap still on okay? When was the last time the chimney was cleaned?

Wood burning devices are not the only heat producing appliances that should be cleaned and checked this time of year. Furnaces, boilers, combination units, oil or propane should all be serviced before the season really sets in.

When was the last time you checked your smoke detectors? Have they been “chirping” lately?

False signals or chirping usually means one of two things. Either the back-up batteries are low and need to be replaced or the smoke detector unit itself is dusty and needs to be cleaned.

Two best ways of cleaning them is vacuuming or blowing them out.

In both cases be careful not to damage the unit.

Almost all residential smoke detectors should be replaced after eight to ten years as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Maybe it’s not time to clean them, but rather simply replace them.

How many people have replaced their detectors after ten years?

Proper maintenance will help ensure against false alarms and, even more importantly, help ensure that they work properly in the event of a fire.

Now that the season is changing, and it will not be too long before snow starts sliding off the roof tops, how many people have gone outside their house and looked to see what is under all the bedroom windows.

If in the event of an actual emergency, and someone had to use their bedroom window as an emergency exit, what is on the ground under the window?

Junk, debris, piles of building materials, firewood… or anything that can create a hazard when jumping out the window, should be relocated.

Those big emergency windows the Code Office made you put in your bedrooms when you were building the house have two purposes.

First, they provide an emergency exit, without having to go out of the bedroom.

And second, they also provide an emergency rescue opening for firefighters to get in, so they can get you out if you can’t function on your own.

Keeping the area below the bedroom windows clear of stuff can save lives, minimize injuries and make getting up to the window safer and faster for firefighters.

Another type of detector which is now law for new construction, remodeling projects and at the point of sale, are the carbon-monoxide detectors.

Carbon-monoxide is the silent killer. You can’t see it, smell it or hear it.

Because the furnace was not serviced, and things were not vented properly, or were plugged, the beginning of the season is a perfect time for a carbon-monoxide attack.

Maybe if your house is more than ten years old, and you have never changed out the original detectors, now is a good time.

New detectors are readily available in local hardware stores.

Combination detectors (smoke and carbon-monoxide) are available in hard-wired with battery back-up, which is definitely the preferred type… and most likely the required type for your home.

If you have an older house with battery-operated smoke detectors only, be assured of this: Hardwired, battery back-up, interconnected with CO detection is the way to go.

Did you know that the length of time the power goes off never comes close to the length of time it takes for someone to “get new batteries.”