Protecting your family takes a lot of planning from the area you choose to buy your home in, appliances you use and detectors you place in the home. There are always potential dangers wherever you live and obviously your main priority is to protect your family as much as possible.
You may choose to place an alarm system in the home should you work away a lot, you may decide to use electrical appliances over gas, you may also choose a single storey home because you have young children and don’t want them injuring themselves falling down stairs.
So, many things to take into consideration, but the most important things include smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and alarm systems. These technological units can save a life when you most need them, alerting you to danger and enabling you to act quickly.
Outdoors
When you look at your home you will go around the area removing any dangerous items and ensuring the property is well secured so your children cannot wander off.
Any toys and equipment you place outdoors you ensure is safe for the family, gas barbecues are switched off after use and gas bottles are stored away from the home, these are all understandable measures that anyone would take to protect their home and family.
Indoors
You can’t always determine problems before they happen, whether it’s someone breaking into your home or an electrical fault which causes a fire. These can only be managed through effective equipment which warns you the minute there is a problem, enabling you to get your family safe as quickly as possible and reduce the risk of injury.
This applies to carbon monoxide in the home, you probably already know the dangers of idling your car in a closed garage, but this nasty gas can get into your home and give your family poisoning which requires immediate medical treatment.
There are carbon monoxide detectors on the market which warn you the minute there is a leak. Leaks are usually caused by leaking chimneys, gas water heaters and stoves, wood stoves and gasoline driven equipment.
Symptoms and Procedures
If you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home and it goes off, there are some symptoms you can look for to determine if any of your family members are suffering from poisoning. In some cases the entire family may be suffering, where in others only one member is struggling. Mostly it’s younger children and the elderly that suffer the most from this form of poisoning.
Some of the symptoms to look out for include headaches, nausea, disorientation, irritability, dizziness, problems with co-ordination, chest pain and problems breathing.
The first step is to get the whole family out of the house before checking for symptoms, don’t take the risk and think because you can’t smell anything everything is fine. If anyone is displaying symptoms of poisoning get them medical attention as quickly as possible, the fresh air will relieve the symptoms but they will still require medical help.
When you return to the home, switch off all the appliances and ventilate the property thoroughly, do not go back inside until the entire property has been properly ventilated. Don’t use any of the appliances until you have had them checked and given the go ahead to do so.
Causes
Carbon monoxide can be streamed into the home from a number of sources, these include chimneys that are leaking, always ensure you open the vents and have the vents checked regularly. Your gas heating system or stove could be leaking; this can be prevented through regular checks and maintenance.
You can buy a detector as one of the many steps you take to keep your home and family safe, through early detection you can ensure that no one in your family suffers from poisoning in the long term.
