Home Safety

Life is full of surprises. Unfortunately, not all of them are good ones. Although you may never be able to predict when an emergency disaster such as an earthquake, fire, blackout, tornado or...

Security is never an absolute. You, as the home-owner, must ask how much time, energy and money you are willing to invest to make your home more secure against invaders of all types. This is the...

Bolts are mechanisms that keep doors secure, and locked. Flush bolts are a particular type of bolt that is flush, or even, with the side of the door. A manual flush bolt requires someone to lock,...

Lead, a substance infamous for its toxic effects, is present in many consumer products, including the glazes of food contact ceramics such as crockpots and dishes. Given the apparent hazard, what...

Garages store our valuables and shelter our automobiles, but they are often a weak point in home security. We often think to lock the front door, but we leave the door to the garage from inside...

Many people have ceramic floors in their homes. When the floors get wet, they can become slippery and dangerous to walk on. People can slip and fall, causing injuries. You can make your ceramic...

Chimney caps come in an enormous assortment of colors, types of metal, sizes, shapes and colors. Each one has specific installation methods to ensure a good fit and durability.

Garages tend to be home to a lot of important, expensive things. People use them to store automobiles, tools, and other items that would cause clutter in the home. Securing a garage protects these...

Smoke has a degrading effect on plastic as it mars the look by leaving a yellow stain on the surface. Removing smoke stains from plastic requires following a procedure thoroughly and repeating the...

Every year, thousands of people suffer injuries related to extension cords, whether from tripping over them, electric shock, cord-related fires or unsafe use. Fortunately, many of these accidents...

Whether they're used in hunting or kept for home defense, two of the most respected weapons are the .357 Magnum and .44 Special. While both of these are powerful, there are differences that can...

Fire extinguishers often provide years of protection with a single purchase and annual maintenance. Many old fire extinguishers can be refilled when they become empty, but it can often be...

Windows are often the most common point of entry for a burglar, as they can be over looked or left unlocked. A burglar who really knows what he is doing can even get through a locked window by...

A red flag warning is issued by the National Weather Service to alert people of dangerous weather conditions that have a high probability of resulting in fires. The issuing of a red flag warning...

It's not being overly cautious or paranoid for a woman to want to protect herself when she's home alone. Having your home, and sense of security, violated can leave any person feeling vulnerable...

Peppermint oil is used to cure many ailments, such as eliminating bad breath, easing an upset stomach, curing muscle aches and killing bacteria and fungus. Peppermint oil can be used full strength...

No one likes a raccoon running around the crawl spaces of her home. Wild animals can be a danger to your family because of the possible threat of rabies. They can be a pest, a mess and a...

Two mice can quickly turn into a hundred (they breed faster than rabbits)if you don't address the problem quickly and aggressively. The following steps will show you how to stop an infestation...

First time home buyers can do their own preliminary home inspection before making an offer or paying for a professional home inspection. When you buy a home, you want to know what you are getting...

You should have smoke detectors installed in your home. You should also have a fire extinguisher and know how to operate it correctly.

A bump key can be used to pick a lock. It is known as a 999 key or master key. With the right technique, it will open a tumbler lock.

The rental property industry is very competitive; the more a property has to offer, the better chance of renting the home. Travelers who seek lodging in a rental property for their vacation needs...

AC power cords use alternating electric current that periodically experiences reversal of direction. AC cords follow strict specifications in manufacturing, regulating wire size and shape and...

Raccoons do not generally enter an attic, house, car or garage and stay there. Therefore, you can find the route the raccoon is using and place a trap at the exit. Another method used is setting...

Modern home security systems are the result of hundreds of years of technological development, as well as the efforts of many inventors. Over nearly 150 years, security systems evolved from the...

Smoke detectors, also called smoke alarms, are essential in all homes and businesses. Over time, smoke detectors begin to lose their effectiveness and must be replaced with a new unit. The old one...

Proper disposal of light bulbs that contain small amounts of mercury is very important but can pose health risks if the bulbs are broken. Because mercury is a hazardous substance, proper recycling...

Home security should be a priority for any homeowner. One of the most common points of entry by burglars is through a window that has a broken latch or was carelessly left unlocked. Even if you do...

GFCI, or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, is a technology which has been a mandatory part of many electrical installations since the 1970s. These devices sense drops in electrical flow consistent...

There are a number of reasons to use firewood alternatives instead of split logs of wood, but the number one reason is that the alternatives are more eco-friendly. Alternatives to firewood such as...

When we live in such a volatile and fast paced life as Americans that it is important that we take the time to preserve our special documents for future generations. So many times families do not...

People who work on their cars at home often find themselves in need of something to take spilled oil and grease off their driveways. If you allow oil to sit on your concrete driveway, garage floor...

Catching a skunk is the easy part in getting rid of the unwanted pest. The difficult part is releasing the skunk back into the wild without getting sprayed or bitten. Skunk odor is strong and...

An electric mouse trap is a device that lures in mice and either kills them with an electric shock, or uses electric shocks as part of a scheme to ensure the death of the mouse. Electric traps...

Stairwell safety is paramount, especially with the elderly or the very young. There are a few simple things to do that will make your stairs more safe.

Child gates serve as a way of keeping children safe in the home. They protect children from falling down stairs, entering unsafe rooms, such as the kitchen, and help to keep them from getting...

No one wants to think about their home going up in flames, but fires destroy thousands of residential structures each year. And it doesn't take long for a fire to spread. Often you have just a...

Every year, electrical extension cord accidents send 4,000 people to the emergency room, and fires involving the cords kill 50, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. Knowing...

Setting up an alarm system means understanding your security needs and choosing the right components for the job. Your alarm system needs to cover every entrance in your house, as well as such...

Human beings roamed the land quite freely in our early history; however, these nomadic ways were left behind over the past few thousand years as people settled in specific areas throughout the...

Today's busy lifestyles have us coming and going from our homes at all times throughout the day and night. Because of this, outdoor lighting has become an important feature for almost every house....

It is important to secure your home and family against a break in. Sliding glass doors are often used as an entry by burglars because people forget to lock them, their locking mechanism can weaken...

The pumps, jets and heaters in a hot tub all run off electric current, and where there is electricity and water in close proximity, there is also the potential for disaster. A small leak in any of...

Fire extinguishers come in a variety of types and can save lives when used correctly. Once their usefulness has ended, however, care must be taken in how the extinguishers are disposed of. Some...

According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, there was a half-percent increase in burglaries, identified as the robbery of a structure such as a permanent dwelling, apartment,...

Smoke detectors, while key in providing warnings of imminent danger, can frustrate and annoy household users when they malfunction. Frequent beeps and false alarms can lead to users ignoring the...

Door sensors for burglar alarms consist of two separate parts. The first part is the sensor itself, mounted on the door jamb or a nearby wall. The second part is a magnet mounted on the door...

When your Honeywell home security alarm accidentally goes off, your first order of business is to shut it off. However, this resets the volume at the maximum level. Any announcements will be loud...

Robins tend to be territorial birds. If one catches its reflection in your clean house windows, it may charge at the mirror-bird to try to chase it off. This behavior not only can dirty your clean...

Mold can be very dangerous in the home, and if spotted or suspected, should be swiftly and thoroughly dealt with. Mold spores can cause asthma-like symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, sore...