Add holiday items to the mix—lights, trees, candles, guests, etc.—and you up the ante on things that could possibly go wrong,” said Mike Georgeff, of DirectBuy. Some easy, cost-effective measures to improve safety in your home include:

Regularly testing your smoke alarms and installing smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on every level of your home — especially near sleeping areas.

Replace your furnace filter regularly during heating seasons.

Carefully inspect holiday light strings each year and get rid of any with frayed cords, cracked lamp holders, or loose connections. Be sure to unplug the light string when replacing light bulbs, too.

DirectBuy offers many products to help your home run more efficiently during the holiday season and the rest of the winter months—all at direct insider prices. About DirectBuy

With more than 160 locations in North America, DirectBuy offers its members access to approximately 700 brand-name manufacturers and their authorized suppliers in the US, and more than 500 brand-name manufacturers and authorized suppliers in Canada.

Home safety is a hot topic, with innumerable TV shows, books and DVDs available to teach you how to keep yourself and your family safe from everything from burglars to house fires. One thing that gets overlooked, though, is food home safety. Poor attention to food safety and lack of knowledge about it contribute to food-borne illnesses, which cause more hospitalizations every year than other home dangers combined.

One simple thing you can do is to check your refrigerator. Most kitchen stores and mega stores sell refrigerator/freezer thermometers, which will allow you to check the actual temperature inside the appliances, ensuring that they are functioning properly. Be sure and move the thermometer around, checking inside the crisper drawers and on the door shelves. If airflow is blocked, the drawers could become too warm, meaning food could spoil.

Also, never, ever put hot food into your refrigerator. It will cause the temperature within the refrigerator to rise steeply, and other foods in the refrigerator can spoil in the time it takes for equilibrium to be restored. Use an ice bath to bring the temperature of hot foods down before putting them in cold storage.

In the freezer, make sure you don’t let ice build up on racks, walls and vents. Most modern freezers are frostless, but in times of heavy use they can need some help.

All around the kitchen, let sterilization be your watchword. A simple solution of one tablespoon of bleach to one gallon of water is all you need to kill bad bugs on kitchen surfaces, and you can even make such a mixture in your sink and dip your small kitchen items in it to keep them spotless and germ-free.

Practicing food safety around the home isn’t hard at all to do, but it does require constant attention. Every time you cook, take a few extra minutes to make sure your workspace is well cleaned both before and after the process. You won’t regret it!

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To protect pre-school children from fires and burns, Rover, the Home Safety Hound, and Freddie Flashlight lead a room-by room home tour to help them identify hot items in every room of the home. Rover and Freddie encourage children to stay away from hot items and alert a parent or caregiver if they spot a hazard. The video is also available in Spanish. Learn more, visit www.homesafetycouncil.org

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Andrew Krause is a Chef and Pastry Chef for over 30 years, at persent I own a Gourmet Bakery called The Cheese Confectioner.You can visit my site at For Free Recipes.net NOTE: You are welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the about the author info at the end).

Home safety necessity: home security dog

Believe it or not, alarms aren’t the end all or be all of home security.

Alarm devices galore

The fact of the matter is that there are many other security devices that could be installed in your house that has the ability to prevent burglars from getting in your residence. Many of these security devices are inexpensive and simple.

Secure entrance points

The key to home safety is by securing any and all entry points. This basically mean that all doors should consist of solid and strong material (not glass or plastic) and should be secured appropriately to the door hinges and must have locks that are resistant to tampering.

It is basically ideal that there is an extra deadbolt that is put in the doors during the night and so should be made from metal that is strong.

Secure windows

Also, windows must be made out of tough glass, preferably glass that is double glazed that it is impossible to be broken in. Locks for windows aren’t common but they help greatly in security.

Secure the garden

Securing the garden is also possible. There are burglars who enter through the back than the front house.

Fences of houses should therefore be high as well as measures to prevent climbing must also be installed. This includes paint that has anti-climbing properties as well as spikes.

Hedges could also be used instead of fences.

Get a home security dog

This is another measure that could be done. Getting a home security dog is a ingenious way to guard your house and use it against any burglars or intruders.

Intruders generally don’t want to particularly mess around with dogs.

Putting up a “Beware of Dog” poster is also an effective way to veer burglars away. Take note that small dogs aren’t great home security dogs as they generally don’t appear scary.

German shepherds are better home security dogs than any other basically because of the dog’s large size as well as their very strong home security dog guard instincts that inherently make them hostile to any stranger.

All in all, a home security dog is a better alternative and a very helpful option to ensure that the home is safe and secure.

Besides being able to guard the house, a home security dog could also serve to be your courageous and consistent companion, as well as guard, both in the home and outside.

Watch the video related to home safety

The top five home safety hazards that can injure or kill children.

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The above article was written by Sarah Miller on behalf of a buzzing online Residential Remodeling Contractors community where homeowners easily and painlessly find the right contractor for their home improvement projects and in turn, contractors can find the right Remodeling Leads! Also check out the QuoteCity.com Blog for more related Remodeling Ideas and Articles/a>.

When your baby starts walking, the number of dangers multiplies and parents must pay even more attention. Bookshelves become hazardous and table knick knacks become the object of unquenchable curiosity. Even table cloths can become dangerous. Yes, a simple tablecloth can create unintended havoc when a toddler is involved. Here are is a checklist for parents to follow and implement before your baby becomes a walking toddler:

1. Use bolts or screws to fasten bookshelves to the wall. If a toddler likes to climb, this is one of the many types of furniture they’re very likely to climb on, pull down or fall off of. There are also straps, anti-tip kits and anti-tip devices that secure your bookshelves to walls keeping your toddler safe. Falling bookshelves, bookcases, dressers and in general, falling furniture happens more often than people think and it can be fatal.

2. Electrical and pull cords can strangle a baby or toddler. Tape down all electrical cords and put cords on blinds and curtains up, out of reach of a child as they may be dangerous. Even the cord on the treadmill should be removed so a baby or toddler doesn’t strangle herself. As most of us know, a celebrity just tragically lost a small child because of a loose treadmill cord. Cord shorteners are available for curtain and blind cords. It only takes a moment to walk into a room and take precautions that will dramatically enhance child safety.

3. Put covers on electrical sockets so that a baby or toddler doesn’t get shocked, or electrocuted by putting his fingers or a metallic object in the socket. This does happen in real life, it is not an urban myth.

4. Medications and household cleaners can be dangerous. Items as mundane as bath oil or nail polish remover are toxic when ingested by a child. Put them up in a locked cabinet. Remember, a baby or toddler cannot tell you what they swallowed. Assume the worst. If you suspect that your child has swallowed something toxic, call your local poison control center. In fact, always make sure you have a legible list of emergency numbers next to every phone in the house. Take the time to program those numbers into your mobile phone.

5. Beware of small objects on the countertops like coins and paperclips. A toddler can reach these items and there is a high probability that they will at the very least put them in their mouth and at the worst, swallow them. Obviously, there is also a high probability that these item will cause the child to choke. It only takes a minute to look at your countertops and to remove those small, dangerous objects.

6. Keep electrical appliances, knives and glass objects high up and far away from your toddler. A small child will grab at anything that looks bright and shiny. These objects need to be locked up in cabinets and those cabinets should be up very high and they absolutely need to be locked. When a baby becomes a toddler latched doors and drawers in lower cabinets are no longer safe. A small child will try and open that lower cabinet if given the opportunity. All cleaning supplies should be kept high and locked up to ensure that the toddler can’t reach them. Never leave cleaning supplies out and absolutely never, never leave them open. That is just asking for trouble.

7. Cover any and all sharp edges on furniture. Toddlers aren’t all that agile or coordinated plus they wobble when they walk. It is not abnormal for a small child to bump their head or other body part on the corners of coffee tables, other tables, cabinets, table legs and just a countless list of furniture parts and pieces.

8. If you don’t have a garbage disposal and have a garbage can, secure it, hide it or keep it secured outside. Babies and toddlers are insatiably curious and the child can reach in and remove, examine and possibly swallow small objects or toxic objects. I am not exaggerating. Remember, whether you keep a garbage can inside or outside child proof it by securing it.

9. Put safety gates at both the top and bottom of stairs. Use baby safety gates that require a hardware installation as pressure gates are insufficient. Stairways are dangerous for babies and toddlers at both the bottom and top of the stairs. Make sure the railings of the gate are less than 2 3/8 inches apart. The last thing you want is to give a small child an opening between rails. Small children love to explore and will simply look at this as another adventure and the last thing you need is that type of adventure.

Please follow this checklist to ensure the safety of your children. Remember, child safety and home safety should always be priority number one.

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Home Safety Guide Video Smoke Detectors, Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Escape Plans

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About Author

Robb Auspitz writes articles on child safety and furniture safety. Robb works closely with the Katie Elise Lambert Foundation and Hangman Products to help inform the public about furniture safety issues and solutions. Visit the Hangman Store to learn more about furniture safety.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Improve Child Safety and Home Safety With This Basic Childproofing Checklist

How much do you know about fires and home safety? Where is the safest air in your home during a fire? What is the proper home safety protocol for a fire? Take this short, six-question quiz to find out the answers to these questions and to test your knowledge of fire and home safety issues. After completing the questions scroll down to the bottom of the page to check your answers.

Lets face it how many of us have really thought about fire protection? It may cross our minds as we watch the news or read the paper. Yet we probably haven’t taken any steps to ensure fire safety in our own homes. Unfortunately most people think it won’t happen to them. It would be nice if that were true, but as statistics show it is not. Every year nearly 4,000 Americans die in fires and more than 25,000 are injured.

Fire and Home Safety

1. True or False: You are in a smoke-filled room. The correct home safety rule is to keep your head as close to the floor as possible as you exit.

a) true

b) false

Answer: b) false—heat and smoke rise, therefore the air closest to the floor is the coolest. Plastics, nylons, and other manmade materials emit deadly gasses when burned, and these gasses are heavier than air. The proper home safety rule is to crawl to the nearest exit with your head approximately 18 inches from the floor; this is where the safest air is located.

2. True or false: Fire spreads methodically from one object to another and from one room to the next.

a) true

b) false

Answer: b) false—during a fire heat rises and temperatures can exceed 500 degrees. As this hot air fills the area closest to the ceiling it begins to descend and flow under doors and through cracks. Upon contact with a flammable object, this hot air can ignite a new fire in a different room than the original fire.

3. According to home safety guidelines, if a fire breaks out while you are on the second floor of your home you should…

a) open the window and jump to safety.

b) run to the door, open it, and exit the room as quickly as possible.

c) feel the door for heat as high up as possible; if it doesn’t feel hot, slowly open it and crawl to safety.

d) none of the above.

Answer: c) feel the door for heat, and slowly open it. If you open the door quickly and the air inside your room is cooler than that in the hallway, a back draft explosion could occur.

4. True or False: Children playing with fires is the leading cause of fire deaths in preschoolers.

a) true

b) false

Answer: a) true—home safety starts with teaching children fire safety rules. Two thirds of those killed in fires started by children playing are under the age of six.

5. While asleep, a fire starts in your home. Upon waking you should…

a) bolt upright and exit your room and home as quickly as possible.

b) run to the window and jump to safety.

c) frantically run out of the house yelling at your family to wake up.

d) roll out of bed and crawl to safety.

Answer: d) roll out of bed and crawl to safety. Bolting upright could easily plunge your head directly into the extreme heat and deadly thick smoke. One breath could prove fatal.

6. If your clothes catch fire, the appropriate home safety procedure is to…

a) run to your neighbor’s yard and jump in their pool.

b) frantically jump up and down.

c) throw yourself on the ground and roll around to extinguish the fire.

d) run in circles, scream, and yell until help arrives.

Answer: c) throw yourself on the ground and roll around to extinguish the fire. STOP! DROP! and ROLL! is the home safety rule of thumb when your clothes are on fire. Running amok fans the flames, causing the fire to spread.

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Accidents at home are the biggest cause of injuries to children under five. Every week nearly 800 under-fives are rushed to casualty after falling down stairs, over 500 suffer burns and scalds, and around 500 swallow something harmful. However, many of these accidents could be prevented. This clip looks at the small changes parents can make to help prevent accidents. For more child safety advice and information on the best way to make your home safe visit www.direct.gov.uk or contact your …

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Ralph Winn writes about Fire and Home Safety and articles on Home Security Systems