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If your home is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning, you need to read this article. Inside this article, you will learn how serious that danger of Carbon Monoxide can be at home and at work. Around the world, more people of all ages succumb to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, more than from any other form of poisoning.

What makes CO such a danger is that it is an unseen gas that has no odor, taste, or color. You can quickly become ill from exposure to it without any warning signs what so ever. According to government sources, on average, about 170 families in the United States die every year from CO produced by non-automotive consumer products.

The dangerous effect of inhaling CO results from the way it attacks the hemoglobin. Once inside the lungs, CO will attach itself to hemoglobin more quickly than oxygen can. Without an adequate supply of oxygen, the body’s organs will begin to fail and eventually result in death. Early warning signs of poisoning include headaches, fatigue and nausea, all of which can easily be mistaken for influenza.

More serious symptoms include feeling dizzy, weakness, vomiting, shortness of breath and chest pain. The symptoms for very young children include being agitated and loss of appetite. Other serious symptoms include convulsion,extreme respiratory distress and death.

Having a detailed family emergency plan is an important safeguard in family safety. For CO poisoning prevention, the plan should state who is responsible for assisting children and any frail and elderly family members from the home in an alarm goes off. If you use fuel-burning space heaters and furnaces to heat your home during the winter, you should have them serviced for proper operation before using them. Using a charcoal grill or generator inside the home is extremely dangerous and should never be allowed.

Many models operate on external electricity and are hard wired into the home’s electrical system. Therefore, it is important that the CO Detector you purchase have a back-up battery alarm. These devices save lives by making a warning signal when CO levels are dangerously high. When the warning sound is heard, someone inside the home can start the family emergency plan, open up any nearby windows and doors, and make sure that everyone inside is safely relocated outside. There are different models available, but all of them require AC, DC, or both for electricity. CO Detectors are equipped with sensors that monitor the level of CO in the air and trigger a warning sound if danger levels are reached. There are four forms of sensors available with different cost, accuracy and speed of response. Like smoke and fire alarms, you should check these safety devices for UL certification when buying.

The combination of smoke, fire and CO detectors provide the best all-around protection. Multiple smoke and fire alarms, plus CO detectors will always provide better protection than just one device. Installing a CO detector with a memory feature is a good investment, even though it will cost more than basic models. Installing a CO detector is easy to accomplish, just remember to keep the manufacturer’s instruction sheet on file for future reference. You should also remember to replace the batteries at least once a year, or as the manufacturer recommends. After installation, and every six-months thereafter, test the detector according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Always seeking to incorporate new technology as it becomes available, some new detector models include a wireless monitoring feature that links the detector to a vibrating pillow pad. Other features include strobe lights and even a remote warning handset.

So there you have it, there a plenty of reasons to install a Carbon Monoxide Detector in your home before the arrival of this year’s heating season. I hope you found this article informative. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can find more great Home Improvement articles at PracticalRepairs.com

Hunter May is a freelance writer with years of home ownership, property management and home repair article writing experience. His articles are featured at PracticalRepairs.com and are focused on how anyone can make their own Practical Home Repairs. Looking for Home Repair Tips? Whatever your home repair problem is your can discover the best home repair tips at http://www.practicalrepairs.com

Article Source: Home Safety with Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Every time you make a claim on your home insurance your premiums go up. It doesn’t matter if it’s your fault or not. The moment you experience an accident, theft or act of God that forces you to seek financial assistance from your insurance company you become more of a risk. Before you reach a point where you have to file a claim on your home contents insurance you might want to look at some prevention methods to protect yourself from the risk of fire in your home.

• Keep your home clear of clutter: Dispose of anything that you don’t need. Piles of clothing or other unused items in a home can be a fire hazard. Don’t just throw useless items in a pile in the closet. Throw them out.

• Have your electrical system checked: This is particularly important if you live in an older home. Have your electrical system checked by a professional to make sure all wiring, conduits and outlets are functioning properly.

• Keep flammables stored in a cool, dry place: Heat can cause combustion in flammable chemicals and moisture can cause the containers they are stored in to corrode and leak. Keep items like gasoline, turpentine and propane in cool dry places where the risk of fire is less likely.

• Always check stoves, ovens and electric heaters: Make sure everything is shut off before you leave the house. A simple routine that takes just a few minutes could save you thousands of pounds in damages later on. Also, keep cooking surfaces clean. Most fires in the home are started in the kitchen and can spread rapidly over greasy or oil covered surfaces.

The contents insurance that covers your home may or may not cover everything that you lose in a fire. When you first purchase the insurance policy, make sure that fire is covered as a cause and make a list of all items that make up the contents of your home. This list should be itemised with values and purchase receipts whenever available.

Antiques and jewellery should be appraised and those appraisal slips should be kept in a safe place away from the home. Help to prevent fires by taking the steps above and help avoid heavy losses by maintaining the right home contents insurance. Don’t look for bargains or try to cut corners when it comes to insurance. You pay the price in the long run if you’re not properly covered.

Philip Youngwood is a freelance writer with a strong interest in the importance of home insurance, particularly contents insurance.

Article Source: Reduce the Risk of Fire in Your Home

There are different reasons why people purchase a safe today. Reasons range from theft protection for valuables to keeping items out of children’s hands to protection from natural disasters and fire. A persons threat from many of these vary from low to high, but of them all, natural disasters and fire are no respecter of persons. Though fire can strike anybody at any time, there are some things that contribute to your amount of fire vulnerability. Lets take a look at that, as well as some things to look for in good fire safes.

First, how vulnerable are you to fire? Though there is no definitive answer, there are things that contribute to the threat level. Such as, what types of material are you house made out of? Do you live in the city or country? What type of roofing material is on your home? How old is your home and how current is its electrical system? If you live in the country, how much clearance is there between you and the trees? Lets face it, if you live in a wood sided home with a cedar roof and the forest bumps right up to your walls, your home has a higher vulnerabilty to fire so you will want a safe with better fire protection.

So what types of things should you look for in quality fire safes?

First, make sure it is a fire resistant safe. There are some security safes and chests on the market that are not designed at all to protect against fire.

All fire resistant safes should have at least one layer of fireboard. Fireboard is a fire resistant insulation that is on the inside of the safe. You most often see fireboard in 1/2″ thickness, though some companies use 5/8″ thick fireboard. Higher quality safes will have more layers of fireboard. The highest quality fire safes I have seen have 5 layers of fireboard in the walls, ceiling, doors and doorjambs.

The weak link in fire safes is the door. If the door seal is not good, heat and smoke may get into the safe and damage the contents. To prevent this, many top safe manufacturing companies use Palusol®. Palusol® is a special type of fireboard that expands when heated. As the Palusol® expands, it completely seals the door from threatening heat and smoke.

The thicker the steel of fire safes, the greater the fire resistance. Most good safes start at a 12 gauge steel, and higher quality safes will be thicker. Just remember, that when it comes to steel measurements, the smaller the gauge, the thicker the steel.

Last, make sure the safe is fire rated by an independent company. Most safe companies use Underwriters Laboratories (UL) so the safe will have a UL rating. Usually the rating gives how long a safe will withstand a fire burning at a certain temperature. Most safes will protect its contents from a 1200 to 1400 degree Fahrenheit fire for anywhere from 15 to 120 minutes. This temperature is the outside measurement, and the time is how long before inside damage occurs to paper, which chars at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Be aware that digital data can be damaged at lower temperatures.

Some companies also give their fire safes a BTU rating. A BTU (British Thermal Unit) is the amount of heat energy it takes to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. All combustible material have a BTU rating. The higher the BTU, the longer before heat damage occurs. This is different from actual fire. In the California wild fires a few years ago, the heat was intense. Safes with high BTU’s preserved their contents. They may not have been directly in any fire for a long period of time, but they did have extensive exposure to the heat.

As you are shopping around and looking at different fire safes, remember to consider how vulnerable the safe will be to fire based on its location, and then use this information to narrow down the list of best fire safes for your circumstances.

MJ writes for ClickShops Inc., where you can find a large selection of fire safes for your home or office at www.gunsafes.com.

Article Source: Five Things to Look for in Fire Safes

Why does a hard drive crash? This happens when there’s a problem with the hard disk and you can’t access the stored data, even when everything else with the computer is fine. It can happen any time for no reason, or can be due to something external like your dog or girlfriend puking on it.

Depending on how bad the crash is, you may still be able to salvage some of your precious, precious data. If you’ve suffered a head crash, where something called the read-and-write head of the hard drive touches a magnet, you’re probably screwed. You’re in for lots of data loss and anything you try to do to recover the data is going to screw you even more unless you get a professional to do it for you.

Or maybe the electrical system crashed. If this happened, you’ll have a better chance of getting your data back.

It could be possible that the air filter on your hard drive malfunctioned. These work by stabilizing the atmospheric pressure and any wetness between the hard drive casing and what’s outside it. If the filter fails to capture one or a few particles of dust or dog puke, this material can touch the hard drive, screwing you even further. Then you’ve got a head crash on your hands and we know that’s no fun. Furthermore, everywhere the material touched can cause something called a bad sector.

What is a bad sector? Its simply a part of your computer’s memory drive that you screwed up somehow from physical damage. To find out if you have a bad sector, try using SCANDISK (if you use Windows). It’ll run a check of your hardware and tell you if you have any parts of the hard drive that you can’t use.

Click HERE for solutions to damaged hard drives.

Article Source: Why Did My Hard Drive Crash?

Charlotte Home Inspection is a service that most prospective buyers seeking to reside in Charlotte NC area must consider an essential prerequisite to buying a home there. It is not prudent at all to overlook the value of having a home inspection. Such a step will compromise the joy of secure and worry free living in your dream home and could cost a lot of money down the road.

A trusted Charlotte Home Inspector will undertake a thorough and meticulous inspection of every home. It is also most advantageous to most real estate brokers who want to offer only the best quality homes to their prospective buyers to recommend to the sellers to have their homes inspected before putting them on the market. It is very desirable for sellers because they can be confident that their house will pass the buyer’s inspection and won’t have to reduce the price or pay for unexpected repairs at the closing.

A diligent Charlotte home inspector will apply the principle of inspecting homes as if they were choosing a home for their own family. Dependability and personal touch are hallmarks of a respected Charlotte home inspection service. Services that a Charlotte home inspector should provide include inspections on the following areas: structural integrity, roofing components, exterior integrity, plumbing system, heating system, electrical system, interior, central air conditioning, insulation, ventilation and built-in kitchen appliance.

When choosing a Charlotte home inspector, it is important to review the qualifications of the inspector. It is notable that there are numerous do-it-yourself electricians who might have re-wired or fixed the electric systems in the house. This can often pose a great consternation among the licensed home inspectors. Electrical defects can pose a major concern since they can cause serious dangers to the home residents from risk of electric shocks, short circuiting and even burning of the house. This makes the services of licensed and qualified home inspectors highly valuable to ensure safety and reliability and structural integrity of the house.

A licensed Charlotte home inspector will always follow a code of standard practices from uniformly established set of guidelines promoting quality home inspection services. One way to get the best Charlotte home inspector is through referral from a trusted person that is not a commercially motivated referral from the real estate agent. It is important to consider that sales agents are given a commission for every home sold. Some unscrupulous agents might be tempted to downplay the problems in the house they are selling or recommend their own preferred home inspectors. There is a potential conflict of interest and an educated consumer is the best guarantee against encountering unforeseen problems.

It is always wise to have a trusted Charlotte home inspector check the property you are planning to buy to ensure its safety, quality and to obtain an honest report of the condition of the property you want to own. In the current down market conditions (a buyer’s market) a presale inspection from a reliable Charlotte home Inspector will go a long way in assuring the buyer and helping in the sale of the property. Furthermore, the inspection report provides an amount of protection in case any problems arise in future.

One can find many Charlotte home inspection service providers in Charlotte and in North and South Carolina that meet the highest quality standards of providing credible, reputable and reliable home inspection report. Their services benefit real estate brokers and their buyers and home owners as well.

Now that you know that you need a lot of questions answered whether you are buying a home or selling a home go to http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com and get all your questions answered promptly.

Article Source: Charlotte Home Inspection: Qualifications of a Reliable Home Inspector

Getting a new furnace can be a difficult task. When it comes to furnaces there are several different types of systems and options to choose between. While a good contractor will help you find the right furnace you also want to do your own research to make sure you are making an informed decision.

Efficiency Level

The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency or AFUE is used to rate most furnaces. The AFUE measures how much heat is delivered to your house in comparison to the amount of fuel that you need to give to the furnace. For example, an 80% AFUE rating means that 80% of the fuel you supply is used for heat while the other 20% is lost through the chimney. However, the AFUE will only tell you the fuel efficiency of the furnace and not the electrical usage.

As of January 1, 1992, the US Department of Energy determined that all furnaces need to have a minimum of 78% AFUE to be sold in the United States. Most furnaces have an AFUE rating of 80%, but high efficiency furnaces can have an AFUE as high as 90%. If you live in cold weather, areas the higher the percent rating the more money you save during cold winter months.

Choosing a Location

When choosing where to place your furnace the area in which you live plays a major role. For those in colder regions the best option is a gas or oil furnace or boiler. For those in a warmer region it may be a better choice to use a gas furnace or heat pump. If you don’t have a gas or oil service where you live then you may need to choose an electric heating system such as electric furnaces or heat pumps. If gas is available, but you home doesn’t have it then you may want to talk with a plumber about installing a gas line. Although if electric costs are cheap in your area then an electrical system can be a better choice. The best form of advice is to talk with a reputable HVAC contractor in your area. However, because of the low cost in most areas a natural gas furnace or boiler can be a good idea.

Heat Exchangers

When it comes to gas furnaces the most expensive and important part is the heat exchanger. Typically, a separate parts warrantee covers this part. This warranty typically covers five years, but some can be as high as ten to twenty years.

Choosing a Thermostat

If you aren’t home during certain parts of the day, it can be a good idea to consider getting a programmable thermostat. This way you can set your unit to a low temperature when you aren’t home and then have the house return to a comfortable temperature at a certain time before you arrive home. This also allows you to set temperatures different for when you are asleep and when you are awake. Many programmable thermostats can be set by the week so you can easily program it for specific days when you are home and those days that you aren’t home.

FURNACES – HUSKY HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING provide Heating commercial and residential services.

Article Source: Choosing Furnaces

Electricity is vital to modern living. Most houses and offices have electrical systems, and they are often used heavily. A lot of people understand that electrical fires are a possibility. What they don’t realize is that electrical fires cannot be treated like other fires. To deal with electrical fires, you need an electrical fire extinguisher.

Electrical fires are fires that are caused by short circuits in the electrical system or overloaded power cables. The failure point throws off sparks, and nearby combustible material is set on fire. Water cannot be used to extinguish an electrical fire. Water conducts electricity, and those unlucky enough to be in contact with that water are in serious danger of electrical shock. Many firefighters have lost their lives because of electrical shocks in this manner. Instead of water, carbon dioxide and dry chemical powders are used to combat electrical fires. These two types of fire extinguishing substances do not conduct electricity, and are thus safe to use for electrical fires.

Fire extinguishers are rated according to the substance they contain. Electrical fire extinguishers are designated as Class C in the USA, and Class E in Europe and Australia. These marks are also used in other countries. Always know what type of fire extinguisher is available, so you don’t put yourself or others in danger.

Carbon dioxide or CO2 is a common gas. At the molecular level, it consists of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. Carbon dioxide is produced by animals and people when they breathe out. Carbon dioxide has many uses: it is used to make sodas fizzy, remove caffeine from coffee, and more. One of its most popular uses is as a fire extinguishing agent. Carbon dioxide works by pushing away oxygen in the air, and the fire dies from lack of oxygen. Carbon dioxide can be dangerous when not used properly, as excess carbon dioxide can cause dizziness or unconsciousness.

A substance called Purple-K or PKP is often used for electrical fire suppression. PKP is mainly used for flammable liquid fires, but it has proven effective against electrical fires. PKP is a smooth, purple powder that floats on most liquids. PKP does not get wet with water, and it is not dangerous when ingested in small amounts. Cleanup of PKP is done using suction when the discharged PKP is dry. When PKP mixes with liquids like water and oil-based products however, it produces a crusty scum that can be very challenging to remove. PKP works by inhibiting chemical reactions and, to a small degree, smothers the fire.

If you do not have a fire extinguisher rated for electrical fires, the best thing to do is turn off the electricity. When the electrical system is turned off, the fire becomes safer to deal with. If the burning material is paper, wood, rubber, or plastic, then the fire becomes an ordinary combustibles fire. In this case, water may be used. Just make sure to dry up the wet spots and replace the burnt parts before turning the electricity back on!

The best way of identifying an electrical fire extinguisher is to look for a certain icon on it. The icon is a black square, with white prints of an electrical plug and socket on fire. It should not have a red slash across it – if it does, it is unsafe to use for electrical fires. Depending on your location or where your fire extinguisher was made, it will have either a capital letter C or E on it. Make sure to know beforehand what kind of fire extinguisher you have, and how to use it properly!

Having specialized in the electrical fire extinguishers trade for over 20 years, Brian now works tirelessly to promote affordable fire safety for home and for business.

Article Source: Electrical Fire Extinguishers: The Solution to Fires Caused by Electricity

Fire is the biggest enemy that your home could have. According to research, 80% of fires reported occur in the home. Close to 4000 deaths in a year has been attributed to house fire. Because of this alarming state of fire casualties, it is important to keep your home safe from fire. You should invest in fire safety equipment which will help you prevent the onset of fire and take action before it is too late. The importance of these products is no longer necessary to be discussed because in the end, these are the very products which you will thank for when you are faced with a house fire.

When a fire starts to spread, smoke is its tell tale sign. Suffocating from the smoke caused by the fire is the common cause of three out of four fire deaths. To avoid this, you should install smoke detectors on all levels of your house and outside of your sleeping quarters. Smoke detectors are the first things which will alert you and your family for the first signs of fire. Make sure that your smoke detectors are well-maintained and tested once a month to know if they still work. You should also work hard to keep them dust free so that at the first sign of smoke, they will set the alarm. Batteries of smoke detectors must be changed at least once a year to be safe. Smoke detectors that are directly wired to the electrical system must have something which must indicate that it is active. For the hearing impaired, there are special types of inexpensive smoke detectors available in the market.

One of the most important fire safety equipment are fire extinguishers. This is the product which will be your best bet when there is starting fire on the spot and you have to deal with it first hand. Make sure you place fire extinguishers in the areas of your house where fire is most likely to occur like in the kitchen, garage, and workshop. Since there are a lot of fire extinguisher types available, it would be safe to go for an ABC type extinguisher so that all kinds of fire are covered. You should also give some time and effort to learning how to use your fire extinguisher beforehand. Learning to use them during a fire will make it very hard for you because you will already be panicking and can lead to a very bad situation. Don’t take things into your own hands especially if a large fire has already developed. Fire extinguishers are only suitable for small fires. If the fire has already gone out of hand, you should call the emergency hotline and get as far as the fire as possible.

These are the most common fire safety equipment which you should have in your home. In order to keep your house safe from fire, you should invest in these products. It may require a good deal of investments on your part, but nothing can compare to the life and property it can save during a fire.

Having specialized in the fire safety equipment trade for over 20 years, Brian now works tirelessly to promote affordable fire safety for home and for business.

Article Source: Fire Safety Equipment – You Should Have in Your Home

Electrical conduits are made for the purpose of insulating and for defending the conductors from the dampness, from the natural environment, from the accidental impact, and also from the chemical vapors, which can easily cause some damage to them.

The Electrical Conduits are also able to make it smooth for the electricians, or even for homeowners like you to fix a simple wiring system. Since, there are several Electrical Conduits available on the International Market, it is easy for you to buy some electrical conduit, to make an electrical system for yourself.

Here are some guidelines on choosing the electrical conduits for your home:

1. Choose which kind of Electrical Conduit you require in your house, keeping in mind the actual size and shape of your home, and of course, depending on your budget for the electrical system. The most utilized kinds as Electrical Conduit are represented by rigid and flexible metal electrical conduit.

The flexible electrical conduit is the most common used Electrical Conduit for the hart to reach places, but it is not as efficient as an insulator, compared to the metal and the plastic electrical conduit.

The rigid type of metal electrical conduit is the most common utilized for industrial and the commercial buildings, because it represents a way better insulator and there are not as many impossible to reach places.

2. Resolve the desired amount of the electrical conduit that you will need to generate in your enclosed electrical system. You can use a a jet line or string to determine your electrical system, or you can simply calculate the length by using the actual dimensional size of your home.

3. Purchase your electrical conduit from a specialized electrical store or from a professional home improvement shop. If you need a big amount, you will need to pre-order it, to ensure that it is sufficient in the store.

These are the common tricks and tips that will help you when you will be buying your Electrical Conduit for your home. After that, only you will need proper conduit fittings in your home.

Jeckno writes for technology, electrical gadgets and issues related to home improvement. His free guidelines will help you in choosing electrical conduit and how you will perform conduit fittings in better way.

Article Source: Electrical Conduit – Your Guide to Choosing Premier Quality Electrical Conduits