Decoration Storage Do's and Don't's

Most homeowners have a collection of treasured decorations that help make the holiday season more festive. You may not realize it, but there's a direct correlation between protecting your decorations while they're in storage and keeping your home and family safe from harm. Here are some decoration storage do's and don't's that can help you accomplish both:

Don't Assume That Decorations Aren't Dangerous

You might mistakenly think you only have to worry about hazards like frayed electric holiday lights or placing a tree too close to your fireplace when your decorations are in use. However, some stored decorations can add fuel to a fire or produce noxious fumes when they melt, such as:

• Boxes and egg cartons used for ornament storage

• Fabric holiday stockings and tree skirts

• Components of wreaths, garlands and artificial trees

• Holiday candles

• Plastic totes and storage containers

Don't Use the Furnace Room for Decoration Storage

If you have some extra space around your furnace, you might be tempted to use it to store your holiday decorations. The truth is, having any of the above items close to a combustion device like your furnace (or water heater) is a serious safety hazard. Other flammable and combustible items that shouldn't be stored near your furnace are fuels like gasoline, paint and paint thinners, aerosol sprays, cleaning and laundry products, wood products, paper goods, cat litter and fabric/textile materials.

Do Choose a Safe Spot for Storing Decorations

After you've carefully packed up your holiday decorations to keep them safe while in storage, here are some potential storage location where they're unlikely to cause any danger:

• The attic. A well-lit attic can be a good spot to store seasonal holiday decor, just don't include items like paraffin candles that may melt.

• Your garage. A dedicated shelving unit in the garage can make a great location for storing decorations during the off-season.

• A bedroom closet. An empty closet in a seldom-used bedroom can give you easy access to stored boxes of holiday decorations.

To learn more safe decoration storage ideas for your Broken Arrow home, contact us today at Air Assurance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, us at 918-217-8273.

Here's One Fire Hazard You May Never Have Thought About

While many household fire hazards are well-known, could you be missing one that’s less so? The clothes dryer in your laundry room could contain the makings of a damaging and even fatal house fire. In fact, these fires happen over 3,000 times a year in this country. Lint accumulation in a dryer and the dryer vent duct can ignite with catastrophic results. These tiny fibers from fabrics placed in the dryer are highly flammable and burn extremely hot once ignited by an overheated dryer.

Dryers can overheat from two principle causes: a clogged lint filter or an obstructed dryer vent.

• When the lint filter isn’t regularly cleaned, proper dryer ventilation is reduced and the dryer may overheat. Lint residue accumulating on surfaces inside the dryer ignites and catches drying clothes and other fabrics on fire also.

• When airflow through the dryer vent duct is insufficient, layers of lint may accumulate inside the duct, further blocking ventilation. Fire that originates in the under-ventilated, over-heated dryer will rapidly expand into lint accumulating in the vent duct and then spread into the house.

To reduce the fire hazard from a clothes dryer, take these steps:

• Always clean the lint filter before each load goes into the dryer.

• Check your dryer vent duct. To reduce the accumulation of lint inside, the vent duct should be as short as possible and should be routed with as few bends and joints as possible. Most dryers include specifications for the maximum safe length of the vent. The dryer vent should be metal or aluminum — plastic flex-vent will melt if fire erupts and easily spread flames to the structure of the house.

• Have the dryer and vent duct inspected annually, including verifying that the dryer high-temperature cut-off switch is functional to reduce fire hazard. Professional duct cleaning services can blow out or vacuum the entire duct without dismantling it to ensure that all lint build-up is removed.

Ask the professionals at Air Assurance for more information about reducing the fire hazard from your clothes dryer.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about fire hazards and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “HypnoArt/Pixabay”