Keep Your Home Safe

Owning a home is an exciting step in life, another rung upwards on the ladder of living in the real world. But like any other investment, it comes with a plethora of responsibilities that can be stressful to keep track of. Canadians spend 90% of their time indoors, and in the cold winter season there's certainly no place like home. 

Too often, though, in the process of decorating and arranging furniture, we overlook the safety methods that require our attention. It's important to keep our homes up to date with all of the necessary items and equipment to ensure security and make us aware of any potential health hazards. 

This month, The Home Depot and Health Canada are teaming up to promote awareness of safety within the household and educate Canadians about how to reduce their risk of exposure to danger.

Here are some tips:

Pollen pollutants and other allergens
Make sure your furnace has a high efficiency filter and be sure to change it every 90 days to capture allergens and expel unwanted chemicals. For maximum benefit choose a filter that has electrostatically charged fibres, they're known to capture more than 90 per cent of large air pollutants. 

Gases, chemicals and VOCs
To keep chemicals out of your home, purchase low volatile organic compound (VOCs) paints or flooring that is made from natural sources such as FSC-certified wood, bamboo, or eucalyptus. If you're trying to rid your household of already existing gases and chemicals, carbon air purifiers will effectively trap them. 

Hard water residue
If you've got a shower head that's gray and goopy, it's likely due to hard water residue, which is caused by too much magnesium or calcium. To avoid this problem, purchase a water softener that will eliminate the build up. Also, water that tastes rusty or metallic is usually a result of too much iron, which can cause rust build up on faucet fixtures as well.  Water softeners can help this problem too, however distillation water treatment systems will eliminate it completely.    

Fire prevention
Smoke alarms should be replaced every five to ten years. Make sure yours is up to date and working by conducting monthly tests and changing the batteries every six months. Having a fire extinguisher on hand is useful too.

Carbon monoxide
The colourless, odourless, toxic gas is lighter than air and toxic to humans. Installing a Canadian Standards Association certified detector in your home is crucial. Check battery status regularly and replace all CO detectors every five years. To ensure that there are no blockages or cracks in the vents or chimneys, have them professionally inspected along with your furnace at least once a year.  

Image from MorgueFile

Courtney Gilmour
		About the author:
		Courtney is a published writer, stand-up comic, and shameless Internet enthusiast. She holds a double bachelors degree in English Literature and Communication Media Studies, specializing in semiotic theory, however she doesn't get Shakespeare and has never won a game of Scrabble. Currently she lives in Toronto and works as a writer for WOMAN.CA.
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