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electrical safety in the home can be improved with surge-protecting power strips

Electricity powers your appliances and electronic devices. Many homes also use electric systems for heating and cooling applications. While electricity is necessary to keep your household functional, take care when using it. Similarly to electrical testing glasgow, regular electrical testing is required to preserve the safety and reliability of electrical systems. These inspections include inspecting any plugs, sockets, cables, and appliances powered by your electrical supply.

 

Follow these tips for electrical safety in the home to keep your household free of hazards, while if you need an electrical service to help you with installations there are great companies out there you can find in the best directory online, see more here for this.

Don’t Overload Electrical Outlets

Most household outlets are designed for two electric devices, usually allowing a maximum of 120v. Homeowners often plug heavy-duty electric items into their outlets as well. This can be dangerous when those devices draw too much power. To reduce the risk of overloading outlets, use a power strip with a surge protector to plug in multiple items. You can also hire experts at sites like https://mitchellelectric.com/ or https://teslaelectriccolorado.com to install additional outlets. You can learn more about electrical safety here.

Be Mindful of Extension Cords for Electrical Safety in the Home

Extension cords are safe for occasional use in your home. They aren’t designed for long-term usage, though. Don’t run multiple extension cords throughout your home. They create tripping hazards and if run under a rug, they can overheat and cause a house fire. If you find you often need an extension cord, hire an electrician to install more outlets in convenient locations. Visit sites like https://safeandsoundelectric.com/darien-ct/ or https://www.asburyelectric.com/service-area/virginia-beach-va/ for additional guidance.

Electric Safety in the Home: Repair Damaged Power Cords

Especially if you have small children or pets, check your devices for damaged power cords. Power cords become worn out through use and they can be dangerous when handled incorrectly. Periodically check your devices for faulty cords and repair or replace them as needed.

Water and Electricity Don’t Mix

One of the best electric safety tips for the home is to avoid water around outlets. However, we do sometimes use electric appliances and devices near water in the bathroom and kitchen. When plugging in the hairdryer, wipe the plug dry first. Don’t use devices like a radio or cell phone in the bathtub. When plugging items in near the sink, make sure surfaces are clean and dry.

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Thanksgiving safety makes for an enjoyable holiday with family and friends

Thanksgiving is coming up soon. You may be making travel plans or creating a grocery list because you’re doing the cooking this year. Make sure your holiday is healthy and fun by following these Thanksgiving safety tips.

Thanksgiving Safety Tip: Make Sure Your Smoke Detectors Work

If you’re hosting this year, you’ll have lots of friends and family in your home. For safety on Thanksgiving, test your smoke detectors. If you find that one of the devices isn’t working, replace the batteries or the entire unit, if needed. Smoke detectors are inexpensive and easy to install.

Avoid A Fire

You will be spending a lot of time in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. It’s not uncommon to have a turkey and stuffing in the oven and gravy and mashed potatoes cooking on the stovetop. House fires often start in the kitchen. Don’t leave a hot stove unattended. If you need to step away, have another adult supervise the cooking until you return.

Keep the Floor Clear for Thanksgiving Safety

You will probably have a lot of visitors on Thanksgiving and a lot of foot traffic in your home. If there are toys, shoes, or clutter on the floor, your guests may trip and fall. Tidy up before your guests arrive. Clean off stairways and put toys into your child’s bedroom. If you prefer that your guests take off their shoes inside, put a bench by the door and a basket or rack for storage.

Activities To Occupy Children

If there will be children in the house, plan activities to keep them occupied. Set up games for them outdoors or make an arts and crafts or puzzle station in the living room.

Before your guests arrive, check your house to look for hazards to children. Make sure that any cleaning products, household chemicals, and medications are locked away. Remove fragile items from areas children can easily access.

Thanksgiving is a great time to gather with family and friends. Prepare your house before guests arrive. By using the Thanksgiving safety tips listed above, your guests and your belongings will stay safe this holiday season.

Walton Inspection Services offers home inspections in Murrells Inlet and the surrounding areas. Contact us to request an appointment.

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ideas for small kitchens include adding more storage

Let These Ideas for Small Kitchens Inspire You

A little ingenuity can turn your small kitchen into a well-organized space. These space-saving ideas for small kitchens will inspire you to reinvent the way you store and organize things in your kitchen.

Hang as Much as You Can

No matter the size of your kitchen, you probably have some wall space to hang things up. The inside of a cabinet door is a great place to put hooks for measuring cups, cool coffee mugs, utensils, and oven mitts. Mount pegboard to the inside of the pantry door to hang spatulas, ladles, and whisks. A hanging ceiling rack will fit in almost any kitchen and is a great way to keep pots and pans accessible, and you can find all these things at the s tore, which you can see thanks to the great shop fronts they always have from sites like https://www.shopfrontdesign.co.uk/northamptonshire/.

Add an Island or Cart for More Counter Space in a Small Kitchen

A kitchen island gives you more counter space and extra storage. If your kitchen isn’t large enough for an island, a rolling cart adds counter space at a lower cost. Most kitchen carts have open shelving for storage. Some also have drawers and a cutting board surface.

Great Ideas for Small Kitchens: Use the Top of Your Cabinets

There’s usually wasted space between the top of your kitchen cabinets and the ceiling. In kitchens that don’t have a soffit, you can easily store things on top of the cabinets using bins or baskets for neat, decorative storage.

Raise Your Cabinets

Here are two different cabinet ideas for small kitchens. The first method is moving your existing cabinets to ceiling height. Then, you would gain storage by putting shelving under the newly raised cabinets. The second option is to install new, taller cabinets that reach to the ceiling.

Shelving Ideas for Small Kitchens

A freestanding shelf isn’t the only way to use shelving to expand your storage. Other space-saving ideas for small kitchens include placing shelf risers inside cabinets and installing open shelving on the walls. If you’re looking for a durable and visually appealing flooring solution to complement your kitchen design, consulting epoxy resin flooring contractors can provide you with options that not only enhance aesthetics but also offer long-lasting functionality.

Invest in Compact, Space-Saving Appliances

Major kitchen appliances, including ranges, fridges, and dishwashers come in compact versions, which are smaller than standard sizes. For example, compact stoves come in widths of 20 or 24 inches instead of the typical 30 inches. A compact dishwasher is more narrow than the standard width. Compact appliances are great options if you don’t have a big family. You will also save money on energy costs by installing new, smaller appliances. All appliances are also PAT-tested. Pat testing is a routine check of certain electrical products to verify their safety, if you’re wondering what it is. See this page for more information: https://pattestingcompany.co.uk/what-is-pat-testing/. And if you need to conduct electrical inspections, you may consider hiring qualified electricians. In addition, an efficient electrical panel installation is vital for maintaining a secure and functional power supply within any infrastructure.

Walton Inspection Services offers home inspections to Murrells Inlet and the surrounding area. Contact us to schedule an appointment.

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pool maintenance

With the temperatures rising, your swimming pool becomes an even more popular place to spend time. To keep the water clean, healthy, and safe throughout the summer, it’s important to perform routine swimming pool maintenance. Let’s look at seven important tasks to make sure your pool is ready to enjoy on hot summer days.

Important Steps in Swimming Pool Maintenance

1. Pool Maintenance Includes Skimming Twice a Week

A few leaves floating on the surface might seem like no big deal. However, if you don’t skim them off regularly, you make more work for yourself later. Leaves absorb pool chlorine, which can cause a chemical imbalance. The leaves also decay and eventually fall to the bottom of the pool, encouraging algae growth.

2. Vacuum the Pool Once a Week

Even with regular skimming, debris will settle to the bottom of the pool. Routine vacuuming is important for swimming pool maintenance. A manual pool vacuum can do the job, though it’s labor intensive. The better option is investing in an automatic pool vacuum. It does the work for you and saves time for other pool maintenance needs.

3. Balance Your Chemicals Twice a Week

When a pool’s chemical levels get out of balance, the water becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and algae. Testing the water for healthy pH levels alerts you to a potential problem. Ideally, the pH should be between 7.2 and 7.8. Testing kits are inexpensive and only take a few minutes to complete.

4. Pool Maintenance Includes Cleaning Your Filters as Recommended

Pools can have any combination of three different types of filters: cartridges, sand, and diatomaceous earth. These filters keep your pool water clean and clear. However, if you don’t clean and maintain them, they aren’t able to do their jobs properly and your water quality will suffer.

5. Clean the Pool Deck Once a Month

This is probably the most commonly overlooked pool maintenance step. You spend time and money keeping your pool in pristine condition. However, if the surrounding pool deck is dirty, your pool will not be healthy and clean. Take time at least once a month to scrub and wash the surrounding deck.

6. Scrub the Pool Edge Once a Week

One of the hardest jobs for pool maintenance is scrubbing the edge of the waterline. Scale and stains build up there, no matter how well you keep the rest of the pool clean. Once the scale starts to develop, it’s difficult to remove. Swimming pool maintenance includes scrubbing the edge at least once a week to maintain a clean water line.

7. Refresh the Water a Few Times a Year for Proper Pool Maintenance

Swimming pools have high concentrations of salts and metals like copper, iron, and chloride that interfere with keeping the pool clean and can create brown stains on the pool surfaces. The easiest way to lower the concentrations of these salts and metals is to add fresh water to the pool a few times each year, and whenever the water level falls below the skimmer opening.

Walton Inspection Services provides swimming pool and spa inspections to Murrells Inlet and the surrounding areas. Contact us to make sure your pool is ready for summer.

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Planning for a new fence

Fencing serves as a visual representation of a property’s border. It keeps intruders out and increases property value. Some fences are purely decorative. Others are used to keep pets and kids safe or to promote privacy. Planning for a new fence is important to maximize the benefits of this feature.

The Importance of Making a Plan

While planning for your new fence, take into consideration the cost and timeline for your project as well as the benefits of fencing to your property. For example, the height and placement of a chain link fence affect both how well it will secure your property and the total project cost. Get the most out of your efforts by planning for a new fence first.

1. Understand Your Goals

Before choosing materials to use and placement of your new fence, decide what you want to accomplish. What is the purpose of the fencing? Where will you install it? Then, consider what type of fence will meet your needs.

2. Determine Your Budget

Unless you and a neighbor are sharing the cost of the project, budgeting for the fence is something you must consider. Depending on your budget, you may be limited to certain materials. Instead of hiring someone, you might complete the installation project on your own to save money. Your budget dictates many aspects of your project, so it should be determined upfront.

3. Get a Quote for Different Materials

Fencing installation rates and the cost for the materials vary. Often, it is more cost-effective to purchase your own supplies and pay for labor than to let your contractor supply the materials. Requesting quotes for several types of materials will help you select one that is well-suited to your needs and within your budget.

4. Inform Your Neighbors When Planning for a New Fence

Planning for a new fence may impact the property next door, so it’s good to discuss your plans with your neighbors. Neighbors may be willing to help build the fence or contribute to the cost if they will also benefit from the project.

Because it can take time to prepare your finances and to gather quotes for various materials, work the planning and prep time into your overall project timeline. Get started by researching fence styles and determining what you want to accomplish by installing the new fence.

Walton Inspection Services provides home inspections for the Murrells Inlet area. Contact us to schedule an inspection.

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