Improve Your Home Safety This New Year
Welcome to the new year, homeowners. We hope that this new year brings new opportunities for you and your loved ones. We have a couple of tips below so you can begin this year with a good start regarding safety, style, and the future of your home. We’ll be looking at issues such as home odors, fire safety, and health hazards that’s prevalent in every home.
Lead Paint in Your Home
One of the first things homeowners should do to improve the safety of their home is test for harmful odors and gases that are released into the air. If your home was built before 1978, you should test for lead in the paint around your home. During the wear and tear of owning a home (small children can easily ingest the lead while playing), the harmful particles can be released unknowingly leaving your family at risk of inhaling contaminated air.
According the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one in every fifteen homes in America has escalated levels of radon in their home. Radon, a small, odorless gas with extremely small radioactive particles that get trapped in your lungs, caused over 20,000 lung cancer deaths in US last year. It comes into the home via soil under the basement of your home. You can purchase Radon test kits at your local hardware store or call in professionals to help you.
Radon The Harmful Odor
Fire Hazard Free Bathrooms
A recent trend found in homes in the last couple of years, especially in colder states like Minnesota, is space heaters in the bathrooms. While this keep you warm, it is a major potential fire hazard. We have a couple of solutions that will keep you warm while reducing the risk for an accident. First, to keep your toes warm you can install heated bathroom tile (though this is more expensive option). Second, consider installing a small wall heater that will increase the amount of heat released into the bathroom. Finally, while it doesn’t solve the problem of feet on cold tile, installing a tankless water heater will get your bathroom water hot fast, which will minimize the amount of time spent waiting for the shower to heat up. If you’re considering a new bathroom remodel get a free quote today!
Most homeowners are pretty diligent about cleaning out lint from the trap door within their dryer, but many neglect cleaning out lint from behind dryer or within the ducts and vents. Dryer lint is highly combustible; the U.S. Fire Administration reported that dryer lint causes around 15,000 building fires every year.