The most wonderful time of the year is finally here. We at Disaster Response are looking forward to stringing lights on our homes, baking delicious dishes, and seeing family that we hardly see any other time of year. With the extra activities, decorations, and persons frequenting your home, you may encounter a few more dangers to your home than you normally would. Not only can there be a greater chance for a fire with ovens being used and candles decorating the home, but flooding can occur from burst pipes or from your cousin’s naughty kids leaving the water running. Today, we are going to take a quick break from our latest blog series to talk about how to keep your home safe.
Leave the Heat On
It’s easy to want to be energy efficient and leave the heat off in your Grand Rapids area home when you’re traveling for the holidays, but no matter how “green” this may seem, no heat can mean massive damage to your home. If your home reaches temperatures lower than 55 degrees, there is large chance that your pipes might burst. You may be asking, why 55 and not 32—water freezes at 32 degrees? Most homes do not have a unified temperature or, in other words have rooms and areas that tend to be cooler than other parts of the home. The places where your pipes reside tend to be some of those cooler places. If your pipes get below freezing temperatures, the water in them freezes, the ice expands to take up greater space than water, splits your pipes and then when the ice melts you have a massive water damage situation on your hands with a mold problem well on it’s way as well.
Keep An Eye On the Little Ones
We love our younger family members. However, they can be culprits for disasters. Not only can they cause disasters through curiosity, but through innocent carelessness and sometime naughty tendencies. Candles knocked on the floor, burners left on, and a flooded tub, are just a few of the ways that our kids and younger family members can cause problems. Educate your kids on the dangers of fire and flooding and what to do if they see a disaster occurring. If you are hosting the family Christmas party this year, try your best to mitigate as many problems as possible. You can’t control your cousin’s naughty kids, but you can get rid of the risks. Instead of using candles, use oil diffusers, potpourri, or electric candles. Also, keep all lighters and other fire hazards away from tiny curious hands. If you can, lock rooms that aren’t available to your party guests.
Don’t Rely On Extension Cords
We all remember the artful monstrosity of plugs and extension cords that powered the Griswold’s Christmas light monstrosity or the moment when Ralphie’s dad caused a small electrical fire. Electrical fires are a real thing and can happen to anyone, especially those living in older homes in West Michigan. Before you plug in a Christmas light display that could rival that found in Christmas Vacation, check the capacity of your breakers, outlets, and other parts of your system. Flickering lights and repeatedly blown fuses may be signs that you need to upgrade your electric system. Even if you aren’t putting in lights and other decorations this year, but may be having company, remember the effects of multiple hairdryers and other appliances being used at the same time in the morning.
We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and avoid anything that would endanger your home. However, know that if you have a small kitchen fire or pipes do burst, that there is someone in Grand Rapids who can help you. Disaster Response serves residents and businesses in the West Michigan area with professional and trustworthy disaster response services such as water damage restoration, fire damage restoration, mold removal, and more. We can even help you through the claims process as well! No matter what, the contractors of Disaster Response are here for you! We know fires, flooding, and other disasters never sleep. Call us day or night and we guarantee to have someone there to help you deal with what you are going through. Visit our website to learn more about Disaster Response and our fire and water damage restoration services and more!
