Here are 5 hidden dangers lurking in your home that you need to be careful of:
Radon
Radon is a naturally-occuring gas that creeps into houses via pipe gaps, wall joints, and cracks in the foundation. Though chances are it can be found in every home at some level, high levels of Radon function as dangerous carcinogens, which are deadly to life. You can get a Radon-testing kit to check the levels in your house, since its invisible presence that evades every sensory power we have makes it particularly dangerous.
Carbon Monoxide
Another gaseous hazard, Carbon Monoxide is an odorous, colorless, nearly undetectable and deadly gas. Some clues to carbon monoxide leaks include sooty yellow-brown stains in front of boilers, stoves, or fires, pilot lights frequently blowing out, yellow instead of blue flames coming from gas appliances, and smoke having a tendency to build up in rooms. Carbon Monoxide detectors are a smart investment and are often available from house alarm system companies. For example Ring offers a product called the Ring Alarm and Smoke CO Listener, which costs around $70.
Bee Hives & Birds Nests
While technically this is outside of your home, it is still proximate enough to result in danger inside the home. If you have cameras as part of a home security system, particularly those with motion detectors, it is critical that you inspect them in a timely manner to assure no bee hives or birds’ nests are obscuring the view or triggering the motion detectors. You will save yourself some pricey and annoying false alarms if you keep your security devices free of insect interference.
Clutter
One of the biggest dangers in any home is clutter. If something happens to you, like a burglary or medical incident, emergency personnel must be able to navigate the interior of your home to get to you should you be in danger and need help. Clutter will make that even harder on far over-worked EMTs and more whose main aim is to keep you out of harm’s way. If stressful situations result in procrastinating when it comes to cleaning, be aware that you are putting anyone who needs to enter the house to help you in danger.
Flickering lights
Flickering lights can mean something innocent, like a defunct bulb, or one that isn’t tight enough. It can also be indicative of a dangerous electricity issue, such as wiring that is overheating, a failing breaker switch, an overloaded circuit, a fried light fixture, and more. While hiring an electrician to come in and figure out what’s going on can be expensive, it’s a critical part of keeping your home a safe place without any lurking danger. The worst case scenario with an electrical situation is a house fire, which can annihilate not only your property, but your entire life.
Smoke Alarm
When was the last time you changed the batteries in your smoke alarm? Once again, Ring offers a smoke alarm and CO detector along with their security device inventory, since keeping you safe in your home definitely includes safety from dangerous gases.
