CO Detectors: (Oct 2015) On April 15th 2015 it
became mandatory to install CO detectors in up to 6 dwelling homes that have
appliances that burn fuels and produce carbon monoxide. On Oct 15th 2015 buildings
that have more than 6 dwellings now have to have them installed with the
following stipulations:
1: If there is a fuel burning appliance installed then a
detector should be installed adjacent to the sleeping area or areas
2: If there is a floor, ceiling or wall shared with a garage
then a detector should be installed adjacent to the sleeping area or
areas
3: If there is a floor, ceiling or wall shared with
a service room with a fuel burning appliance then a detector should be installed
adjacent to the sleeping area
4: If there is a service room with a fuel burning appliance then
a detector should be installed in the service room
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Dishwasher Recalls - Bosch, Gaggenau, Kenmore Elite and Thermador
BSH Home Appliances Recalls Dishwashers Due to Fire Hazard
Name of Product: Bosch, Gaggenau, Kenmore Elite and Thermador Dishwashers
Hazard: The power cord can overheat, posing a fire hazard.
Remedy: Repair
Consumers should immediately stop using the dishwasher and contact BSH Home Appliances for a free inspection and repair.
Consumer Contact: BSH Home Appliances Repair Hotline toll-free at 888-965-5813 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST Monday through Sunday or the brand Web site for more information.
Bosch www.bosch-home.
Gaggenau www.gaggenau.com/us and click on Support, then Safety Notices
Kenmore www.sears.com and click on Product Recalls at the bottom of the page
Thermador www.thermador.com and click on Support, then Safety Notices
Media Contact: BSH Home Appliances Corporation at 310-552-4114
Photos available at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/
Units: About 149,000 (in addition, about 45,000 were sold in Canada)
Description: This recall involves power cords supplied with certain Bosch, Gaggenau, Kenmore Elite and Thermador brand dishwashers that were manufactured from January 2008 through December 2013. Model and serial numbers are located on the top side of the dishwashers’ inner door panels. The following brands, models and serial numbers are being recalled:
Brand
|
Model # beginning with
|
Serial # range
|
Bosch
|
SGE63E, SGV63E, SHE68E, SHE7ER, SHE8ER, SHE9ER, SHE9PT, SHV58E, SHV68E, SHV7ER, SHV9ER, SHV9PT, SHX58E, SHX5ER, SHX68E, SHX7ER, SHX8ER, SHX9ER, SHX9PT, SPE5ES, SPV5ES, SPX5ES
|
FD 8801 - FD 9312
|
Gaggenau
|
DF2417, DF2607, DF2617
|
FD 8904 – FD 9312
|
Thermador
|
DWHD64, DWHD65
|
FD 8908 - FD 9312
|
Model # beginning with
|
Serial # beginning with
| |
Kenmore Elite
|
630.13003, 630.13023, 630.13993, 630.14003
|
010 or 013
|
Incidents/Injuries: BSH Home Appliances has received 10 reports of the electrical cord overheating, including five reports of fire resulting in property damage. No injuries have been reported.
Sold at: Appliance and specialty retailers, department stores, authorized builder distributors, home improvement stores nationwide and online between January 2009 and May 2014 for between $850 and $2600.
Importer/Distributor: BSH Home Appliances Corp., of Irvine, Calif.
Manufactured in: Germany
Note: Health Canada's press release is available at: http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Sewer Gases
Sewer Gases : (Oct 2015) If you smell a nasty
smell in your basement it could be coming from the floor drain. many new homes
feed water to the drain U Bend (P trap) every time a close toilet flushes. Older
homes do not and the trap may dry out releasing the odours from the drains to
enter your home. Refill the trap with water and then add a small amount of
cooking oil ( maybe a cups worth ) to float on top of the water and create a
seal to prevent further evaporation
Friday, September 11, 2015
Touchless Faucets Recalled
Glacier Bay and SchÓ§n kitchen faucets
Hazard: The battery box used to power the faucet’s sensor can short circuit, overheat and/or melt, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers.
Remedy: Repair
Consumers should immediately unplug and remove batteries from the faucet’s battery box and contact Lota USA for a replacement battery box for the faucet.
Consumer Contact: Lota USA/Parts Helper toll-free at 877-580-5682 Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET, on Saturdays between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET, or online at www.lotausa.com and click on “Recall” or at www.homedepot.com and click on “Product Recalls” at the bottom of the page for more information
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Asbestos in Your Home?
Asbestos: (August 2015)
The Harms of Asbestos Exposure:
- There is no assigned safe level of exposure to asbestos fibers. In other words, no exposure is too little.
- Utmost safety precautions must be observed when working with asbestos or during asbestos removal, otherwise you risk asbestos exposure for yourself and your family to long-term often times, irreversible detrimental health risks.
- If asbestos, especially friable asbestos is disturbed, it can release dangerous minute particles into the air.
- Airborne asbestos particles can be so small and may not be easily be seen by the unaided eye. Never assume that friable asbestos will not be airborne once disturbed.
- Asbestos exposure by inhalation from friable asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma asbestosis, and lung cancer.
- Mesothelioma is a cancer which most often afflicts the lining of the lungs. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.
- The rates, incidences of the incurable cancer malignant mesothelioma are expected to rise from 2012 to 2020.
- The risk of contracting asbestos-related diseases increase with the number of fibers inhaled by the length of time that you inhaled asbestos fibers (number of years of asbestos exposure).
- Smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer coupled with asbestos exposure.
- Diseases from asbestos exposure do not usually exhibit symptoms until after 20 to 30 years after asbestos exposure.
- Mesothelioma symptoms exhibit after an average time of 45 years after asbestos exposure
Commercial Product Asbestos Exposure
Personnel who have used end products made from or made with asbestos are at risk of asbestos exposure, from heat resistant gloves, to fire retarding clothing, the use of these commercial products have exposed personnel in different industries to the long-term adverse effects of asbestos exposure.
Aside from those who worked in the construction industry, DIY enthusiasts who worked with popular building and construction products are also at risk of asbestos exposure. Many commercially available products through the late 1970’s were made with asbestos, including those that are commonly used for home repair and construction such as insulation, roofing materials, siding, tiles, joint compound and flooring. These products when cut, sanded or filed release asbestos fibers into the air.
Second Hand Asbestos Exposure
Second hand asbestos exposure are those people who were not directly exposed to asbestos. These include family members who live with personnel who have worked in the mines, establishments and installations that use asbestos on a regular basis, whatever industry they may have been in. When workers from these establishments and installations return home after a day of work, they bring home with them, unbeknownst to them, the dangerous asbestos fibers sticking in their hair, hands, skin and in their clothes. Simple and innocent interactions with asbestos workers like hugging, kissing and holding hands exposes the family members to asbestos. Even sharing a laundry load with the work clothes of the asbestos workers and wearing these clothes afterwards exposes the family members to asbestos. Remember, asbestos does not dissolve in water, though some may be remove during laundry, the ability of the asbestos fibers to cling to fabric and their insolubility in water makes them difficult to be removed from clothing. Some of these fibers that cling to clothing eventually becomes airborne, and that’s when the danger starts
1-out-of 3 Australian houses are built using asbestos. With older houses built before 1970, asbestos exposure becomes a risk when home renovations are carried out. Asbestos exposure is prevalent with renovations carried out in the fibro sheeting widely used in the construction of the homes. Research results from the Medical Journal of Australia reported that a survey conducted in 2008 out of 1597 participants who renovated their homes DIY, 527 reported asbestos exposure during the renovation. 337 (39.3%) reported that their partner was subject to asbestos exposure during the renovation. 196 (22.8%) reported that their children were subject to asbestos exposure. From the survey, 20% reported that they will carry out renovations in the next 5 years.
Asbestos exposure due to DIY home renovation is real, but nonetheless, manageable. The safest approach to conduct home renovations is to assume that asbestos was used during the construction.
Employing a professional removalist or occupational hygienist is the best approach to manage asbestos exposure when planning a home renovation. - How to Avoid Asbestos Exposure
- The best way to avoid asbestos exposure is to not handle it and stay away from it. You should not, in anyway, handle any removal of already installed asbestos or asbestos containing materials by yourself.
Asbestos Exposure becomes viable only when friable asbestos becomes airborne due to damage or due to wear and tear, they may also become airborne during the course of repair. The use of asbestos has been banned since 2003 and is no longer allowed to be used in new constructions or building repairs.
Asbestos Exposure nowadays is limited to industrial, marine (ships and shipyards) and residential and commercial building occupants where asbestos was used during construction.
There are laws in Canada that deal with the disposal of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials. They should in no way be disposed of in the trash to avoid asbestos exposure. (Reproduced with permission by Aware Marketing)
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Who Knew There Was a WRONG Way to Stack Firewood?
Photo: worldforestindustries.com
Nothing celebrates the colder weather like the distinct scent and sound of a crackling log in the fireplace. A steady supply of firewood can help offset your heating costs and, unlike oil and coal, is a renewable resource that can be replanted for future fire-burning pleasure. It takes up to a year to properly season wood, but following these guidelines for proper stacking will help keep purchased logs dry and burnable
Related: Firewood Primer: Which Wood Burns Best?
The purpose of seasoning freshly cut wood is to remove the moisture for ease of burning. Allocate a dry, sunny spot of your yard for stacking. A well-built pile provides proper ventilation and keeps the wood from being prone to molds or fungus A haphazard heap, on the other hand, won’t dry, will soak up rainwater, and eventually it will turn into a smelly, rotting mess
Buy or quarter your hardwoods, such as hickory, White Oak, and White Ash (softwoods ignite faster but burn too quickly), remembering that it’s good to get a range of log sizes: Smaller ones catch faster, while the larger, thick pieces burn longer. The most traditional pile has rows of logs held by a support tower at each end
Photo: woodheat.org
To construct the towers, take two similarly shaped logs and turn them parallel to each other. Build the next layer with two parallel logs that are perpendicular from the first set. Continue until you have about a dozen levels, or as high as you can without letting it get unwieldy. The second tower should be even with but several feet away from the first. In between, lay the logs next to each other so that the cut ends face the direction of the prevailing wind (in the US, weather systems tend to move from west to east, so facing west is a good bet)
Related: 12 “Different” Ways to Store Firewood
Keep layering until the pile is the same height as the towers. Place the pieces bark side up to keep them from shedding moisture into the pile. Although it’s tempting to stack all your wood in neat towers, they aren’t as effective for seasoning purposes, as they don’t allow for enough air ventilation. Finally, use long sticks to help bolster the pile, leaning them against the woodpile and stabilizing them in the dirt
The Shaker woodpile, another popular shape, is a round formation in which the sticks touch at one end, but spiral out with bigger gaps. The first layer looks a little like spokes on a wheel, and it’s a good way to use up oddly shaped logs, adding a nice visual presence to the yard
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Selling Soon?
With
the spring home buying season rapidly approaching, home inspections are a must —
for the seller. If you have maintained your home while living there it will be a
smoother [buyer’s] inspection
It’s not a bad idea to do a home inspection before even listing your home. It may sound like a hassle but it could save you a lot of money and stress early on. It will pinpoint danger areas or red flags that could be a potential problem
Remember, you’re not buying a dump and you want the best $ you can get so don’t sell a dump either.
Having your home already inspected ultimately also gives the prospective buyers the comfort and confidence that the seller actually cared about their home in the first place. Just be sure to Inform the buyer and show proof of the home inspection you so kindly took care of. Doing so avoids any unnecessary and costly redundancies and hiccups during the transaction.
Below is a pre-listing home inspection checklist to keep things significantly less nerve-racking and not terribly costly before the buyer’s home inspector comes through. Get pricing on issues you have identified this will ease the negotiation process and prevent either side thinking the other side is trying to cloud the issue and adjust the purchase price unfairly
1. Clean your gutters out. This is a commonly overlooked detail that just ends up being a hassle later on. Don’t get docked for such a simple yard work chore.
2. If your furnace is over 15 years old, spend the $150 it typically costs to have it serviced and cleaned. Make a copy and put it in a ziplock bag and tape it to the furnace,
3. Check for positive drainage of the landscape around the house. You don’t want to flood the basement, so get some dirt and toss it into the wheelbarrow and level out the slopes.
4. Reinstall any handrails. Many people remove the handrails along their stairs, but when you move out you want to put them back. The home inspector will insist on it.
5. If it’s safe, check out the condition of your roof. You want things looking normal, or, otherwise you’ll have to get some maintenance help.
6. Check the auto reverse on the garage door opener. Make sure there’s a safety release. and that the over reverse and close functions stop when over stressed
7. Sounds funny, but check that all toilets are flushed properly. “You’d be surprised how many people forget about flushing the toilet in the other or, guest room,” “You don’t want things to pop up.”
8. Check your sink and bathtub drains. You need a functional drain, not a slow drain. The home inspector will fill up your tub and watch for what happens. Get any hair out and add Drano when necessary.
9. Take care of any leaks if you can. Check under your sinks and vanities for leakage and tighten what you can on your own.
10. Check your windows. Open and close each hung window — especially the ones that go up and down so as to make sure the springs are in place and the windows won’t slam down.
11. Fix up any deteriorated paint jobs.
12. Test out the dishwasher and washing machine along with any other appliances that will be staying behind. You want everything functioning properly, so there are no surprises.
And as for the don’ts, Don't leave “any stuff out that you wouldn’t want your mother to see — if you catch my drift.” And on a more serious and less embarrassing note: “Don’t ever take off the electric panel. That’s one thing to leave to the inspector!”
It’s not a bad idea to do a home inspection before even listing your home. It may sound like a hassle but it could save you a lot of money and stress early on. It will pinpoint danger areas or red flags that could be a potential problem
Remember, you’re not buying a dump and you want the best $ you can get so don’t sell a dump either.
Having your home already inspected ultimately also gives the prospective buyers the comfort and confidence that the seller actually cared about their home in the first place. Just be sure to Inform the buyer and show proof of the home inspection you so kindly took care of. Doing so avoids any unnecessary and costly redundancies and hiccups during the transaction.
Below is a pre-listing home inspection checklist to keep things significantly less nerve-racking and not terribly costly before the buyer’s home inspector comes through. Get pricing on issues you have identified this will ease the negotiation process and prevent either side thinking the other side is trying to cloud the issue and adjust the purchase price unfairly
1. Clean your gutters out. This is a commonly overlooked detail that just ends up being a hassle later on. Don’t get docked for such a simple yard work chore.
2. If your furnace is over 15 years old, spend the $150 it typically costs to have it serviced and cleaned. Make a copy and put it in a ziplock bag and tape it to the furnace,
3. Check for positive drainage of the landscape around the house. You don’t want to flood the basement, so get some dirt and toss it into the wheelbarrow and level out the slopes.
4. Reinstall any handrails. Many people remove the handrails along their stairs, but when you move out you want to put them back. The home inspector will insist on it.
5. If it’s safe, check out the condition of your roof. You want things looking normal, or, otherwise you’ll have to get some maintenance help.
6. Check the auto reverse on the garage door opener. Make sure there’s a safety release. and that the over reverse and close functions stop when over stressed
7. Sounds funny, but check that all toilets are flushed properly. “You’d be surprised how many people forget about flushing the toilet in the other or, guest room,” “You don’t want things to pop up.”
8. Check your sink and bathtub drains. You need a functional drain, not a slow drain. The home inspector will fill up your tub and watch for what happens. Get any hair out and add Drano when necessary.
9. Take care of any leaks if you can. Check under your sinks and vanities for leakage and tighten what you can on your own.
10. Check your windows. Open and close each hung window — especially the ones that go up and down so as to make sure the springs are in place and the windows won’t slam down.
11. Fix up any deteriorated paint jobs.
12. Test out the dishwasher and washing machine along with any other appliances that will be staying behind. You want everything functioning properly, so there are no surprises.
And as for the don’ts, Don't leave “any stuff out that you wouldn’t want your mother to see — if you catch my drift.” And on a more serious and less embarrassing note: “Don’t ever take off the electric panel. That’s one thing to leave to the inspector!”
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