|
ELECTRIC NOTES
KEEP BACKYARD GARDENING SAFE AND FUN
According to the National Gardening Association, two out of three American households take part in some gardening activity each year. Chores vary but often include: raking leaves, transplanting trees and shrubs, planting spring-flowering bulbs and perennials, pruning trees, controlling weeds and mowing lawns. Whether you’re a master gardener or budding amateur, keep these safety tips in mind.
Avoid overexposure to sun. Limit the time you spend working in direct sunlight by gardening during early morning or late-afternoon hours. This way, you’ll avoid the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. time period when the sun’s rays are strongest. Protect your skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants instead of shorts and a wide-brimmed hat. When skin is exposed, apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Heat stress can also be a risk. Keep water by your side and drink often to remain hydrated. Remember to take frequent breaks by going indoors and relaxing in front of a fan.
Warm up. Injuries often occur when people overextend themselves on a job they tackle only once or twice a year. Stretch your muscles, especially those in your back, before heading outside. For large tasks, enlist help from friends or family, take frequent breaks, spread the job across several days or hire helpers. To prevent strains and sprains, consider the following:
• Keep your back erect when working at ground level and when using long-handled tools.
• Bend at your knees and hips to lift objects.
• Alternate or use both arms whenever possible.
• Keep your elbows bent.
• Don’t rest your body weight on your elbows.
• Grip hand tools lightly.
• Work below shoulder level whenever possible. If you must work above shoulder level, perform the task for five minutes or less.
Be careful with power equipment. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 400,000 people are treated in emergency rooms each year for injuries from lawn and garden tools. Consider the following when operating power tools:
• Know how to operate equipment. Read the manual and follow all instructions.
• Wear long pants, close-fitting clothes, sturdy shoes and safety glasses. Don’t wear anything that could get caught in moving parts, such as loose jewelry. Tie back long hair.
• Handle fuel carefully. Fill up only when the engine is cold.
• If you use electrically powered equipment, check all cords and plugs for wear or cracked insulation. Avoid use in the rain or on wet grass.
• Clear the area of rocks, twigs, toys and anything else that could be thrown by mowing equipment.
• Keep children and pets away from the area. Never carry a child as a passenger on a riding mower.
• Keep your hands and feet away from moving parts. Never work on equipment when it’s running.
• Don’t point the blower nozzle of a leaf blower toward people or pets. Wear a dust mask, especially if you are kicking up clouds of dirt.
• Wear earplugs when using noisy equipment, such as leaf blowers or wood chippers.
IS YOUR AC READY?
Spring is near. That means that air-conditioning season in Texas cannot be far away. Are you ready? Here are some maintenance tips that will help keep your system in top shape.
• Change your air filter regularly. Clogged, dirty filters block normal air flow and reduce a system’s efficiency significantly. Keeping the filter clean can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by 5 to 15 percent.
You should change the filter at least monthly during heavy use. You might want to check it more often if you have furry pets or if your house is dusty.
• The air conditioner’s evaporator coil and condenser coil collect dirt over the months, reducing efficiency. Check your evaporator coil and clean it as necessary.
• Outdoor condenser coils can also become very dirty. You should minimize dirt and debris near the condenser unit. Your dryer vent, falling leaves and lawn mowing are all potential sources of dirt and debris. Cleaning the area around the coil, removing any debris, and trimming foliage back at least 2 feet allow for adequate air flow around the condenser.
• The aluminum fins on evaporator and condenser coils are easily bent and can block air flow through the coil. Air conditioning wholesalers sell a tool called a “fin comb” that will put these fins back into nearly original condition.
• Occasionally pass a stiff wire through the unit’s condensate drain channels. Clogged drain channels prevent a unit from reducing humidity, and the resulting excess moisture may discolor walls or carpet.
GET A CLEAN START THIS SPRING
With a new season rolling around, it’s time to think about that dreaded chore: spring cleaning. Or is it?
Many chores that end up on spring cleaning lists could instead be tackled any time of the year. This splits up the work, and can make your home more efficient and healthier, too.
Outside Maintenance
One of your annual tasks should be an inspection of your home to check paint for cracking and peeling and looking for other signs of wear. In addition, look at the roof for leaks and clean out gutters and drains.
You should also use this time to inspect weatherstripping and caulk on your windows and doors. By checking the seals, you will ensure that there aren’t any spaces that may allow cool air to escape in hotter months, making your air system work harder and wasting energy dollars. Worse yet, gaps could let in the rain, which could lead to damage and costly repair bills.
One easy way to check the seals in your home is to look at door edges from the inside during the day. If you can see any daylight, it means your seals need replacing or upgrading. Where there is daylight, air is able to infiltrate or escape.
Also, on a windy day, listen for whistling or feel for drafts. An investment in proper seals will net you more money in energy savings.
Inside Maintenance
Besides cleaning out closets, pantries and kitchen drawers, you should replace air-conditioner filters; clean dryer vents, stove hoods and room fans; check faucets for leaks; and maintain your water heater.
Cleaning your air filters will ensure that they last longer; this is another money saver, as is cleaning the stove hood and room fans. Dust collects in room fans, causing allergies for some people, so these may need to be cleaned more often than yearly or seasonally.
Attach a length of garden hose to the drain on your water heater, run it outside and open the drain. You’ll likely see a pile of sediment collect at the end of the hose. It’s important to accomplish this task more than once a year, because if you allow sediment to build up in the bottom of the tank, where the heating element is located, it will decrease the efficiency of the heater and even shorten its life.
While you’re giving your kitchen a once-over, use your vacuum cleaner to clean the refrigerator coils. Dust and dirt on the coils insulate them, interfering with heat exchange and making the fridge work harder to stay cold.
If you have a self-cleaning oven, use that feature. Keeping the oven clean not only prevents bad smells from filling your kitchen when you bake and unpleasant flavors from infiltrating into your food, but it also improves efficiency. A dirty oven has to work harder to cook your food.
You might want to schedule this chore when you can leave the house, because sometimes it can be too odiferous. Even if you don’t have a self-cleaning oven, it still needs to be cleaned for the same reasons.
Completing these chores annually (or more often) helps ensure your home is in the best shape possible. You’ll not only keep things running at peak efficiency, you’ll feel better about your surroundings.
FARM SAFETY AROUND POWER LINES
Every year, an average of 62 farm workers are electrocuted in the United States. You don’t want to be one of them.
Imagine that you are driving a piece of farm equipment to the field through a back gate when things come to a screeching halt. You look back to see what’s stopping you only to discover that you’re tangled in an overhead power line! What do you do?
First, here’s what you DON’T do: Don’t climb out. Unless you’re in immediate danger, stay where you are and call for help.
Most utility lines are uninsulated, bare wires. Do not let your body become a direct link between the power line and the ground. If you must leave the equipment, jump as far away as you can, making sure that no part of your body touches the machine and the ground at the same time.
Once you’re off the machine, do not go back until your local electric co-op disconnects the power line.
|