One of the most common misconceptions of homeowners is that accidents ‘just happen’. Sure, you can’t affect a global disaster such as an earthquake, a flood or a lightning strike, but what if we told you that most household accidents are highly preventable. All you need to do is be a bit more mindful about the condition of your home, install the right preventive measures and keep a watchful eye. Aside from these, here are five tips on how to save your home from disasters.
1. Install smoke alarms
The first household disaster that everyone thinks off is usually fire-related. Sure, installing a fire alarm won’t prevent a fire, but it will alert both you and a fire department in time and in this way prevent it from escalating. In a case where a fire is local, you can probably put it out with an extinguisher, still, it is always better to notify firefighters, as well. Furthermore, you need to have these alarms in every sleeping room and on all levels of your home in order to ensure everyone hears them.
2. Have a detailed plan
Everyone knows what they are supposed to do when the fire breaks out, but in all of the commotion caused by this immediate danger, people tend to act irrationally. This is why, it is usually better to have a solid plan, rather than allow everyone to simply act on impulse. Make sure you have the escape plan and even more importantly, make sure that everyone knows it by heart. It might even be a good idea to practice it once or twice per year. This course of action would take about half an hour of your time each year, but in turn, it could save lives of those who are closest to you.
3. Check your drains
Another hazard that every home faces are clogged drains. Aside from bad odors and dirty water, this can cause a leak which could ultimately turn into a flood. As a preventive measure, it would be best if you had a commercial plumber on speed dial. Sure, for a maintenance check you could get anyone, but for an emergency you need to have someone close by; someone who can be there in 15 minutes or less. Therefore, a Sydneysider from the North Shore needs to narrow down their search to plumbers who specialize in blocked drains in North Shore area.
4. Knowing where the valves are
Same as with the alarms, knowing where the water valves are won’t prevent your pipes from leaking, but it just might prevent them from bursting under a sudden pressure. This is why every new homeowner needs to inquire about the location of these valves, so that they can shut them should the situation dictate it.
5. Electrical safety
Finally, we come to the electrical safety of the inhabitants. This is a serious issue and according to a statistic from April 2007, a bit less than 1,500 people were hospitalized in only two years due to the electrical injury. In order to avoid this, you need to check your installations regularly, avoid using faulty appliances and, most importantly, never overload an electric socket.
Conclusion
While adhering to these five principles alone could raise the safety standards inside of your home by quite a bit, you definitely shouldn’t stop there. Pay more attention when dealing with hazardous appliances and materials. For instance, CO poisoning can be as likely and as dangerous as any household fire and is usually not something a lot of people look out for. Additionally, stay clear from any chemically hazardous cleaners, seeing how the last thing you want is to pollute your own home with them.
