Category: Homeowner Tips

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In the warm weather months, many Saturday mornings in Atlanta are heralded with the drone of the lawnmower. How many of these lawnmower owners have taken the time to make sure their machine has been stored safely? And how many know the fire hazards surrounding lawnmower storage and repair?

Be informed! Here’s what you need to know about storage, handling the gasoline, and operating your lawnmower safely this spring.

Before the first mow:

1. If you don’t do maintenance yourself, take your lawnmower to a shop for tune-ups and repairs.
2. Make sure the blades are sharp and not damaged.
3. Make sure the blade guards are in place
4. Make sure your lawn is dry before mowing. Damp grass can damage the mower.
5. Check the gas and oil. If there is gasoline left over from last summer and you didn’t use a fuel stabilizer, it will need to be changed.
6. Make sure the emergency shut off valve is working and not damaged.
7. Check the wheels and make sure they roll easily and aren’t loose enough to come off while you’re mowing.
8. Replace the fuel line at least every other year to prevent the hazard caused by rotten fuel lines leaking or sending rubber bits into the carburetor.

While you mow:

1. If the blade or grasses chute needs to be cleaned, stop the mower engine. Never adjust, clear obstructions, or place any part of your body under a running lawn mower.
2. Disconnect the spark plug before reaching under the mower or before turning it up to look under it.
3. Don’t use the trick of taping the shut off handle down so you can run the mower without holding it. You’ll lose control of your mower.
4. Cut across hills and slopes, not up and down.
5. If you need to add gas in the middle of a mow, stop the lawnmower and let it cool for at least 20 minutes—longer is preferable. A hot engine can ignite the gas fumes or any gasoline that spills.
6. Empty the grass catcher device often so the mower won’t tip over—with you!
7. Watch your oil level. If the level of your gas tank drops while the engine is at rest or you see the level of your engine oil has risen, or if you smell gas on your dipstick, do not use the machine until it can be repaired.
8. If your engine spews liquid out of the muffler at startup, or begins to falter or smoke when running, your carburetor may have failed and needs to be inspected or repaired. If the gas has mixed with the oil, you may think it is just oil leaking, but it can be the oil and gas has mixed. Do not use until you’ve’ identified and corrected the problem.

Cleanup:

1. Allow the mower to cool for at least 20 minutes. Take this time to rake or clean up the yard.
2. After disconnecting the spark plug wire, clean off any buildup of dirt or grass from the mower. It only gets harder to do that later.
3. Once the mower is cooled, fill the oil and gas levels to the recommended marks.
4. Make sure you close the lid tightly on the gas can before you put it away.

Safe Storage between uses, and in the off-season:

1. Don’t store gas or other flammables in a storage shed that’s connected to your house.
2. Remove old fuel from the gas tank.
3. Drain the carburetor fuel bowl.
4. Disconnect the battery.
5. Change the oil.
6. Read the owner’s manual for your brand’s exact recommendations.
7. Add fuel stabilizer to your gas can at each fill up at the gas station. It prevents water from forming in the gasoline.
8. Smell for fresh gasoline. If you smell fresh gas on your machine or storage area, roll the machine outside. Empty the gas, or call a pro for service.
9. If you suspect any problems with your lawnmower, or you smell gas after using it, do not store it indoors. Call an expert for help.
10. Call EMC Security to make sure your home is protected with fire detection devices.

A home security system provides you and your family with additional protection in the event of an emergency.

Ideally, adults should be the only people operating a home security system; however, what better way is there for children to learn how to keep safe than by learning how to work the home security system by themselves?

How to Teach Your Kids about Your Security System

• Review your home’s access points, such as doors and windows, discussing how the alarm system is triggered and the process that follows.

• Provide instruction on how to turn the system on and off. Review the password with them and express the importance of keeping it secure by not telling others. This is particularly important if your child has friends over while you’re not at home. To be on the safe side, consider changing the password periodically.

• Practice! Set up times to perform practice drills and review security measures. This is a great time to teach children what to do in the event of a false alarm.

• Consider a mobile security app for additional peace of mind and convenience. With the mobile app, you’re able to view, arm, and disarm the security system from anywhere.

• Establish a family safety plan, such as a fire escape plan and what to do if your alarm goes off. Review the plans often to ensure your children know how to stay safe.

Contact EMC Security at 770.963.0305 to learn more about the mobile app and other smart-security services.

In addition to protecting your loved ones with a security system, it’s a good idea to consider how to protect them from other unexpected incidents such as natural disasters.

The best way to prepare for a massive power outage (most often caused by a natural disaster) is to build an emergency kit.

Here’s how:

Consider how many people (and animals) your survival kit will need to support and what their specific needs are. For example, what kind of emergency are you expecting? Does the emergency typically require you to stay in place (at home) or would you possibly need to evacuate? If you think there’s an evacuation possibility, you may want to consider creating a portable survival kit that you can easily throw in your car.

The Essentials for an Emergency Kit

Water: You don’t want to get caught without a clean water supply. Plan on having at least one gallon of water on hand per person per day, for drinking, bathing, and cleaning. You can purchase gallons of purified water at a grocery store or reuse empty juice bottles and fill them with tap water.

Food: When an emergency shuts down the power grid, it also shuts down most grocery stores and restaurants. Be prepared with energy bars, beef jerky, nuts, and dried fruit. You can also add a can opener and include canned foods like soup and vegetables. Don’t forget baby food and pet food if needed. For easy clean-up, include paper plates and plastic-ware.

Information and Light: During a disaster situation, you can’t rely on local news, internet, and mobile phones for updates and information. We suggest adding a weather radio to your kit to stay informed of changes in weather, evacuations, and other important information. Many weather radios also include lights and cellphone chargers, reducing the number of electronics you’ll have to keep in your kit.

It’s also important to also have batteries and flashlights handy.

First Aid: Your emergency kit should include a variety of first aid items such as bandages, gauze, antibiotic ointment, and pain medications. You can also include items like burn cream, elastic bandages, allergy medicine, tourniquets, and other first aid items. Experts suggest putting items in waterproof containers so they stay dry and ready to use.

Shelter and Clothing: Every emergency kit should include at least one extra set of clothes and a blanket for each person. It’s also a good idea to include a waterproof tarp if you need to camp out in the elements.

Comfort and Cleanliness: While it may be low priority, you can’t underestimate the reassuring effects of cleanliness and comfort when you’re under stress. Include personal hygiene items, baby wipes, and garbage bags on hand to keep everyone feeling their best and to avoid sickness that can come from unsanitary conditions.

Important Documents: While it’s not necessary to include these items before an emergency strikes, it’s a good idea to throw them in if and when you have to evacuate.

• Insurance
• Passports
• Birth certificates
• Cash
• Other documents necessary

Tips:

1. Plan for a minimum of three days of survival.
2. Store your kit in a large water-proof storage tub is a good option for most kits. It keeps everything in one place and it’s fairly easy to move if you have to evacuate. For mobile and smaller kits, use a in case you have to grab essentials from your kit and go.
3. Store your kit in a climate-controlled environment (so food doesn’t spoil) where you can access it easily.

Learn more at ready.gov.

Most homeowners accumulate, over the years at least a few things are going to require special methods of disposal. Unlike your basic toss-outs or recyclables, hazardous waste can be harmful to people, animals, and the environment if not disposed of properly, making it extra important to get rid of these sorts of materials the right way.

Below are a few tips regarding how to dispose of hazardous waste safely.

What items are considered to be household hazardous waste?

You’d be surprised to learn that you probably have a lot of these substances in your home already.

• Combustible and flammable materials. Substances that ignite and burn easily.
  • Spare cans of gasoline
  • Propane tanks
  • Oxidizers
  • Liquid with a flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Corrosive materials. Substances—usually liquid—that can corrode metal.
  • All industrial strength cleaners
  • Items that contain common strong acids such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid – like drain cleaners
• Reactive materials. Substances that are unstable and prone to possible explosion.
  • Aerosol cans
• Toxic materials. Substances that can be seriously harmful or even deadly upon contact, consumption, or inhalation.
  • Paint
  • Antifreeze
  • Motor oil
  • Weed killers

How to dispose of hazardous waste

• Research the laws of hazardous waste disposal where you live. Different counties have different rules, so read up on them before you do anything else. Simply search “how to dispose of hazardous waste” + “[your county]” to see what comes up.
• Read the product labels. Many household hazardous materials come with general directions about how to (and how not to) store and handle them.
• Schedule a home pick up. Contact your local waste management company and ask them if they offer home pick ups for hazardous materials. Many do, though you may incur a fee.
• If they don’t do home pick-ups, your local waste management authority might be able to recommend drop off services.
• Many waste management facilities are hazardous waste mail-in recycling kits. These kits are especially useful if you live in an area without home pick-up services. With the mail-in service, the company will mail you a special container to put your hazardous items into. Then you just mail it back. This is useful for properly disposing of used batteries, fluorescent bulbs, and printer cartridges—all of which cannot be simply thrown in the trash or recycling bin.
• Donate. If you can, try to donate your hazardous materials to somebody else who needs them. If you have leftover paint, for example, you may be able to donate it to Habitat for Humanity or a charity that is remodeling their facilities. And your local nursery may be able to put your extra fertilizer to use, while the auto garage can possibly take leftover motor oil.

Other tips for disposing of hazardous materials

• Keep materials in their original packaging. Certain hazardous materials pose a heightened threat when exposed to air or when moved into another type of container than they came in, so always stay on the safe side and leave these types of substances in their original containers.
• Handle empty containers with care. Chemical residue on the insides of containers can pose a hazard even after the material itself is gone. If you have empty hazardous waste containers, they’ll have to be disposed of just as carefully as if they still had product in them.

The CDC reports that over 230,000 people (15 years and older) visit emergency rooms every year due to injuries that happen in bathrooms—and 14 percent are admitted for prolonged hospital stays. Injuries include burns, falls, and near drowning.

In order to stay safe, here’s what to look out for in the bathroom:

Tub Safety

It should be common sense but bares repeating – child bath-time is for splashing, playing, and getting squeaky clean, but it should never be done without supervision. Children can drown in a matter of minutes in as little as two inches of standing water. So if you’re filling up the tub or letting it drain, stay in the bathroom until it’s empty.

Many seniors also have accidents in the tub. Most falls occur while seniors are transferring in and out of the tub or shower. You can eliminate the risk with these safety features:

• Install grab bars in the shower, beside the tub and at the toilet.
• Place a non-slip mat or decals on the floor of the shower or bathtub and a non-slip rug on the floor outside the tub or shower. Non-slip mats – rather than fluffy rugs – are also the way to go in front of the toilet and the sink.
• Use a shower chair so your senior can sit while showering and prevent slips and falls. Make sure the chair has a non-slip seat and rubber tips on the feet so it won’t slide in the shower or tub.
• For seniors who need assistance stepping out of the tub, a bath or transfer bench can help. The bath bench extends over the side of the bathtub with two legs resting on the floor. Seniors can sit on the bench, swing their legs over the side of the tub, and more safely stand.
• Use a nightlight or motion-sensor lighting to ensure seniors have adequate light for nighttime visits to the bathroom. Use a nightlight in any hallway along the path to the bathroom from the bedroom or living areas.

Many seniors and elderly purchase a Medical Alert pendant – a water-proof button that will connect with emergency personnel, contact family members and off peace of mind. Learn more about this life-saving device here.

Scald Guard

Keep kids and yourself burn-free by installing scald guards on all of your home’s sinks and tubs. Scald guards are built into the plumbing to control water temperature, so your faucets don’t become boiling water dispensers.

Hazardous Chemicals

Use child-proof locks on all cabinets that contain cleaners or anything that can harm a child.

Toilet Safety

If you have little ones, always keep the toilet seat down and secured with a toilet seat lock. They can fall in and drown if they’re small enough. Plus, a toilet is full of icky germs you definitely don’t want them touching.

For elderly, Install a raised toilet seat, which raises the seat height by 3 to 4 inches to reduce the amount of effort needed to sit and stand when using the toilet.

Flood Sensors

Bathrooms are the number one source of flooding because of toilets, sinks, and showers.

Catching a leaky pipe or massive burst before it becomes catastrophic will save you time, money, and a major headache. That’s where flood sensors come into play. Most are equipped with smart technology, so you get an alert on your phone if it detects water.