primitives discuss smoke-detectors

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1158403

Oh my.

CTyankee (26,579 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

smoke detectors

We do not have fires in our fireplace. We do not light any candles. I am wondering about the risk of fire in our house, but I will be installing new smoke detectors.

What is the biggest fear in houses when it comes to fire? We have updated our electrical service in the house and the general efficiency in the rooms in the basement.

Can I put a smoke alarm near the kitchen without it going off? Should I disarm it and put it back on after I finish cooking?

I am putting one upstairs between the two bedrooms that are used. They are very close. Is that enough in a small house?

randr (3,916 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

1. Wise decision

Make sure to have a plan in effect in the case of a detector going off.

Stinky The Clown (44,737 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

2. We have multiple smoke detectors in our house and in our rentals

One on the bedroom level, in the hallway outside the rooms, one on the main level, not in the kitchen, and one in the basement, near, but not next to, the furnace and water heater.

In our house, there is one more, at the top of the basement stairs above the door to the kitchen. That one occasionally goes off when we're cooking. I open the kitchen slider and then fan the basement door like a bellows. That moves enough air to clear the detector and stop the alarm.

I'm going to install CO detectors in all three houses too. No requirement, but it is the right thing to do.

Buck Turgidson (437 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

9. Try using a photoelectric smoke alarm in the kitchen.

There are basically to types of detector technology, ionization and photoelectric. I switched the one near the kitchen and greatly reduced the number of nuisance alarms when using the oven and the stovetop.

The defrocked warped primitive, she with the face like Hindenberg's:

Warpy (62,084 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

3. I had one that was very stupidly installed near a stove and I used to wrap it in a towel when I baked anything because just preheating the oven would set that sucker off.

They're really best in hallways outside bedrooms, IMO. You're generally awake in other parts of the house.

The only thing I fear is wiring. It's marginal in this dump. The wood stove is usually just about out when I go to bed, I don't smoke and I never leave a stove on overnight.

CTyankee (26,579 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

7. I had the wiring fixed in the basement because my house is old and the basement fixtures were quite old.

my daughter in law's sister had a bad fire because they didn't clear the dryer lint screen! I always clear it after each dryer load...

Warpy (62,084 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

8. I had an epiphany a couple of months ago when I realized it had been 15 years and I had never cleaned out the vent hose. So I crawled in back of the dryer and disconnected it and found there were only a few stray wisps of crud in there, I was seriously impressed considering the cat hair in this house.

Cleaning the lint filter every time or even every other time is key, I guess. That hose was nearly pristine because of it. I did run a perfunctory swipe of a duster through it, but got very little out of it.

Hassin Bin Sober (5,100 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

4. Fire extinguishers are nice to have around when you need one.

Twice I've needed one. It was no fun being without.

Once when I was still living with my parents. My mom was braising some beef on the stove and the oil went up like a roman candle. Getting a lung full of smoke from this relatively small fire was no fun either - now I see how people can keel over immediately from smoke.

Another time I stopped to help some kid tossing snow on his engine fire. All I could do is call the FD and help with the snow tossing. By the time the FD arrived, the car was fully engulfed.

I keep a small extinguisher in the kitchen and a large one in the living room for the fireplace. I keep another one in my car.

Also, I installed these in both the condo's store rooms and smaller ones near the electrical boxes and one behind my gas dryer:

From Griot's Garage magazine:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/ceiling+mounted+unmanned+fire+extinguisher.do

Tesha (19,576 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

5. I think you'll find the biggest fire risks, by far, are smokers and candles.

After that, casual cooking arrangements ("hotplates") and kitchen fires.

Then probably electrical malfunctions including old and badly-modified wiring. For a while, halogen torchiere lamps were a big factor.

I say all this without Googling for specific rates, but I'll bet I'm in the ballpark.

CTyankee (26,579 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

6. my daughter's friends left the shabbas candles burning (you aren't supposed to put them out but let them just burn down) and then went to a friend's house for dessert one Friday night. Her house burned to the ground! You are supposed to put the shabbas candles in the sink to let them burn down.

Personally, I would not light a single candle in my house. But I did leave a burner on low on the stove and it singed a pot holder I had lifted the pot handle with. The house filled with smoke but I was on the porch and realized what was going on. That scared me.

[GOBUCKS]

I'm going to install CO detectors in all three houses too.

Not much of a mafioso if he only owns two rentals in addition to his house.

Sounds like just another DUmbass, making 100 posts a day at the DUmp.

He's still got more than enough room to offer a home to UGP, though.

It's really disappointing that he continually ignores her.

I don't believe he's ever even acknowledged her existence, living practically on his doorstep.

[Carl]

Not much of a mafioso if he only owns two rentals in addition to his house.

Sounds like just another DUmbass, making 100 posts a day at the DUmp.

He's still got more than enough room to offer a home to UGP, though.

It's really disappointing that he continually ignores her.

I don't believe he's ever even acknowledged her existence, living practically on his doorstep.

Still though he has two more houses then he needs and the 1% dude is even making money off them.
They should seize his wealth and let occupy revolutionaries stay there if he isn`t doing it voluntarily.