“An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.”

When it comes to our individual homes, an ounce of prevention goes a long way toward eliminating the potential for disaster. By encouraging everyone living in the home to practice a few good habits, we can save ourselves the heartbreak of serious property loss and possible bankruptcy. A few suggestions are included here. Use them to help you create your own disaster prevention plan.

Fire Prevention

• Whether you’re finishing the basement, adding on a room, or just installing a new clothes dryer, don’t cut corners when it comes to getting the work done right. Have a trained professional do the work and make sure that all the necessary building inspections occur and are complied with. Spending the extra now will prevent the danger of electrical or gas fires later on that could leave you homeless. You may have trouble getting your insurance company to cover damage caused by unprofessional workmanship.
• Store flammable materials such as paint, gas for the lawn mower, kerosene for a lantern, matches, candles, etc., in proper containers and away from heat sources. Store them in cool places away from your furnace and water heater or other pilot lights or flames. Keep your pets out of the furnace closet also.
• If you have a wood-burning fireplace in your home, have the chimney professionally cleaned at proper intervals; always use a screen or glass door when a fire is burning; make sure the fire is all the way out before you close the flue; and don’t leave the house empty while the fire is still burning. Remember, never use liquid fire starter indoors.
• Install smoke detectors and take good care of them. Make sure each person in the home, including small children, recognizes the alarm sounds and knows what they mean. Change the batteries annually whether the detector indicates a low battery or not. An ounce of prevention…
• Keep a household fire extinguisher in an easily accessible place. Show everyone where it is and how to use it.

Flood Prevention

• If possible, make the ground within five to 10 feet of your home slope away from the house, and remove anything that blocks the flow of the water as it runs away. Don’t plant any plants or install any sprinkler heads within that first five feet.
• Make sure you keep your gutters free of leaves, twigs, and other debris, and try to position your downspouts so that water runs away from your home and over the grass, flowerbeds, or vegetable garden.
• Suggest to your neighbors that each of you take responsibility for keeping one storm drain on the street clear of anything that blocks the flow of water. Keeping the drains clear for unrestricted water flow is the best way to protect your property.
• If you are leaving town and no one will be in your home for a few days, turn off the water to your home at the outside water meter to prevent flooding through a plumbing leak or break while you are gone.
• When possible, install solar collection panels, air conditioning units, and hot water heaters in less-risky areas, like above the garage, porch, work shop, or on the ground.
• Know how to shut off the mains for the electricity, know where gas pilot lights are, and how your heating system works. If flooding does occur, appliances with pilot lights may be extinguished by rising water, and it will be essential that gas and electricity are turned off before anyone enters the flooded area.

Keep Everyone Informed
An important step in any kind of disaster prevention is making sure that critical information is available to anyone who might need it. Knowing where the shut-off valves are located could mean the difference between saving part of your home or losing it.

It’s a good idea to tag all the valves in your home and keep a written log of where they are located. Leave the log with anyone left in charge while you are not at home, whether it be the babysitter, a house sitter, or your kids, so he or she knows what to do should flooding begin. Tag each main shut-off point to your home as well as individual valves for the dishwasher, water heater, washing machine, icemaker, water softener, toilets, and other plumbing-related appliances.

Smoke Detectors
Did you know that your smoke detectors need to be cleaned? You should clean them each month to prevent a false alarm or, even worse, to prevent them from not responding when a fire breaks out. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for maintenance. After cleaning the detector, push the test button to be sure the alarm is working properly. Make sure you know each sound your detector makes and what the sound indicates.