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ELECTRIC NOTES
INSTALL CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS NEAR SLEEPING AREAS
If you heat your home with a gas furnace or use other gas appliances at home,
you must install carbon monoxide detectors.
You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, which is a potential byproduct
of burning fossil fuels.
Your home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector to alert you of
the presence of gas. Follow these safety guidelines:
• If you install only one carbon monoxide detector, put it near the bedrooms
so it can alert your family to wake up in case levels of the gas become unhealthy.
Better: Place a detector on every floor of the house.
• Keep your detectors at least 15 feet away from a gas stove or oven,
which may emit a small amount of carbon monoxide on startup.
• Detectors don’t operate properly in humid areas like the bathroom.
• Replace the batteries in your alarms twice a year.
• Properly maintain your gas appliances, including the furnace and stove.
Same goes for devices that use gasoline.
• Know the warning signs of too much carbon monoxide in the house: stuffy,
stale air; condensation on windows; yellow burner flames on the stove; and fluttering
or extinguishing pilot lights.
• If you see these signs or your alarm sounds, turn off gas appliances,
open doors and windows, and call a natural gas contractor to inspect the equipment.
Even better: Get out of the house.
• If your garage is connected to your house, avoid idling your car. Car
exhaust is a source of carbon monoxide.
SAFE TOYS MEAN HEALTHY, HAPPY KIDS
December isn’t just the month when you buy the most toys and gifts. It’s
also Safe Toys and Gifts Month.
Buy toys that are age appropriate so your gift won’t be the one that
turns a child’s holiday into a nightmare.
Here is a checklist for buying safe toys:
• Check the minimum age recommendation on the package. Buy a gift that
suits a child’s age, ability and interest level.
• Supervise children while they are using electronic toys. Put the toys
away afterward in a dry area out of smaller kids’ reach.
• Explain to the child how to use the toy. If it plugs in to the wall,
teach an older child how to safely use electrical outlets. Demonstrate how to
unplug by pulling on the plug itself, not the cord.
• Look for the letters “ASTM,” which mean the toy meets the
American Society for Testing and Materials’ safety standards.
• Avoid buying toys from thrift shops or garage sales; second-hand toys
may not adhere to newer safety standards and could be dangerous.
• Keep an eye out for toy recalls online at www.cpsc.gov.
ELECTRIC FIREPLACES HEAT UP
If you’ve always wanted a fireplace but never needed the hassle, it could
be time to buy an electric version.
Electric fireplaces can help heat a room and add a bit of ambience. And they
look much nicer than a simple space heater.
Because electric fireplaces require only floor space and a power outlet, they’re
a great option for apartments or condos.
If you’re in the mood for faux fire, consider:
• If you move frequently, an electric fireplace could be a good investment.
Most are portable and are relatively easy to move.
• The look of the “flames” in an electric fireplace is much
more natural than it used to be. Still, don’t expect too much. The “fire”
is created by special light bulbs that simulate flickering flames, but even
fireplace sales reps say there’s no comparison with the real deal.
• Because electric fireplaces don’t produce actual flames, they
usually have a separate heating system built in. Most models allow you to turn
the heater off if you want ambiance without heat, which means you can even use
your fireplace in the summer. Some models come with a built-in thermostat, so
they automatically turn off the heat when the room reaches a certain temperature.
• Unlike their wood-burning counterparts, electric fireplaces can’t
be used as a backup heat source during a power outage.
• The price of an electric fireplace starts at around $200.
CHRISTMASTIME CONSERVATION
The house with the most lights used to be the “best.” But times
have changed and so have Christmas lights. Here are some great ways to have
festive decorations without feeling “bah humbug” about your electric
bill.
• If you’re buying new Christmas lights, there are many new energy-efficient
lights available, often at a comparable price. These energy-efficient bulbs
deliver the same amount of light as their higher-wattage counterparts, at lower
cost, as well as being easier on the environment. They also give off less heat,
making your lights safer. A 100 mini-light string will typically use less than
20 watts.
• For maximum energy savings, try new LED Christmas lights. LED (Light
Emitting Diode) Christmas lights use up to 90 percent less energy than larger,
traditional Christmas bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors.
(Most can also be used out of doors—check the manufacturer’s instructions.)
LED lights also emit significantly less heat than conventional lights. As an
added bonus, if one of the LED lights burns out, the rest of the strand will
stay lit.
• Over a 30-day period at Christmas, allowing for lights to be on for
eight hours a day, three sets of 100 mini-lights would cost half as much to
burn as a similar number of traditional lights.
• To save energy and money, use fewer light strands on your tree. The
more lights you use, the more power you’ll use. But whether you use only
one light string or many, you’ll be rewarded with a lower power bill if
you use energy-efficient lights.
SAVE 7-UP FOR HOLIDAY DRINKS
You’ve added bleach, aspirin, soda, syrup or sugar to your Christmas
tree’s water to help the evergreen last longer. Did they work?
Tree experts say they don’t.
It seems like they would: The common blend of 7-UP and bleach seems like it
would, indeed, make the tree’s water more acidic and help the tree take
in more moisture and food. The sugar in the soda should help feed the tree.
The disinfectant in the bleach should prevent mold, fungi and algae from forming,
right?
So it seems. Yet it’s an urban myth, and it’s not true.
Adding acidity to the water doesn’t help the tree take in moisture. Sugar
does act as a nutrient, but the tree doesn’t need food. It just needs
water. And sugar can cause bacteria to grow in the water and make it smell bad.
Although some believe bleach may help prevent bacteria and mold, it’s
more likely to kill the plant tissue with its hydrochloric acid.
The best way to keep your tree healthy and smelling good is to make a fresh
cut on the tree trunk right before you dunk it into a tree stand filled with
fresh water.
Check the water daily to make sure the cut is covered and never exposed to
air. Once it’s exposed to air, the trunk will start forming a cap that
will prevent the tree from soaking up the water it needs to last all season.
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