You’ve got your fire alarms checked and the battery changed twice a year to make sure that your family is safe in case of a fire. And a fire extinguisher in the kitchen if an errant flame lights up while you’re cooking.
But, how sure are you that you’ve done everything you can to protect your home and family from a fire beginning in the first place? There are a lot of ways that a fire can start in your home and it’s up to you to make sure that you know where the risks are.
In this article, I will go over several things you should be checking and maintaining so you can sleep soundly at night knowing that your house is safe and secure.
Your clothes dryer
One of the biggest causes of fires in the home is a clothes dryer that has not been maintained or checked routinely. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense that this would be a high risk situation.
You have an appliance that uses a lot of heat and it gets full of lint very easily. Lint is light and highly flammable so when you add the heat from the dryer, you can see how this can be a problem.
Syracuse home inspection, Bright Sides say that this is something they usually take a look at when inspecting homes to make sure there are no safety issues for the buyer.
Make sure that you are cleaning out the lint catcher after every load to reduce how much lint is actually getting through to the vents. Then check your vents to make sure that there isn’t any collecting there.
The dryer exhaust duct should be made out of a sturdy metal that allows the lint to pass through without getting stuck. The same for the transition duct that connects the dryer to the exhaust. Avoid those flexible plastic ones that end up collecting lint.
As a bonus, when you keep these ducts clean, you also end up saving money on your energy bills.
Your water heater
Not to sound dramatic, but your water heater could be a ticking time bomb. When left alone and not checked or maintained over the years, there is a risk, albeit small, that the pressure in your water heater could cause it to explode.
A higher risk is that a leak can end up causing a short circuit if it touches any electrical wiring which can cause a fire. You should be looking for signs that your heater may be ready to be replaced or at least fixed. If your water is coming out scalding hot then this is the first sign that there is a problem.
Another sign is a rumbling sound every time the heater comes on. Plus, if your heater seems to be running all the time then this is also cause for concern.
Make sure to have plumber come and give it a look to see if there is a problem. You may need to replace the heater.
