[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. Now here's another one that I think is really important, and I think it's something that we've gotta think ahead with, and that is an escape plan. You know, half the time of your day is usually spent in the bedroom. If you had a fire in the hallway, how are you getting out? So think about that.

[00:00:21] Eric Goranson: Do you have an option? Do you have a a patio door to go out? Do you have a window to go out? Are you on the second or third floor? Is there a roof that you can drop down to? What is in the way of you getting outta that building? Now it's taken another notch. Your kids, how easy is it for them to get outta the building?

[00:00:42] Eric Goranson: And this is egress is what we're talking about here. I know as so many people that have base. Bedrooms that don't have egress windows in 'em, and there's really no way for them to sneak out through those windows to get out when it comes to remodeling and renovating your home. There is a lot to [00:01:00] know though.

[00:01:01] Eric Goranson: We've got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome to The Round the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for tuning in today. We've got a great one here for. This is something that I want to just kind of start talking about in the springtime cause it's such a big deal.

[00:01:20] Eric Goranson: This is gonna be my top 10 safety tips that you might have forgotten about in your home. And these are kind of important that I want you to get things kind of dialed in. And some of these are things that, uh, are not only for your house, but if you've got children, maybe it's for their grandparents' house or their aunt and uncle's house or some other house that they're going to.

[00:01:40] Eric Goranson: And that's where this really plays key. So if you wanna find out more information about around the house here, just head to around the house online.com. You can find all the information there from the TV show, to the radio show, to the podcast, uh, the radio show on podcast, which you're listening to right now.

[00:01:55] Eric Goranson: So today, the first one on here is [00:02:00] child window Locks. Just about every year, about 3,300 children are injured by falling from open windows. And I tell you what, this is something that has been a passion of mine, of trying to keep kids from falling out cuz it is so much of an easy prevention that you can do as a parent.

[00:02:21] Eric Goranson: So here's the thing, first, what I want you to do, Is talk to your kids about the dangers of falling from a window. You know, it's, it's no different than telling 'em not to put their stuff in the, you know, put something metal in the outlet or play with the stove burners. This should be part of that discussion.

[00:02:38] Eric Goranson: Now, second of all, Locks are a very important thing, making sure that that window doesn't open more than four inches and put a safety lock on there. If you do it correctly, it's not gonna change the safety of that room at all. You can make it where it can be opened up in an emergency, but you want to be able to have it.

[00:02:57] Eric Goranson: Where those window stops work. [00:03:00] Now, the other thing that you have to be careful with is make sure that you don't stack furniture in front of it. Some people go, oh, I just put a dresser in front of the window. They'll be fine. Now you just gave that child a ladder to be able to get up to look out because they can climb up, climb up that dresser or desk to get up over there.

[00:03:18] Eric Goranson: And now here's the other problem, children. Naturally think that that window screen is there to keep them from falling out, so they lean up against it, not knowing that it's meant to keep bugs from coming in. And a simple push pops the screen out. And so they're flexible. They're not even designed for holding more than five pounds, let alone anything else.

[00:03:42] Eric Goranson: And even a fall for a kid falling from a two-story window can result in serious injury or death. So make sure you get those window guards or stops in there. That's a big one. Uh, I also like the window stops for, you know, where you can open up the window and still get a little bit of a breeze, [00:04:00] open windows, and close them after.

[00:04:03] Eric Goranson: If you have any single hung windows, open 'em from the top. You know that double hung where the top and bottom move? Use the top side and then again, make sure that you have that discussion. I tell you what, how many times do I see? We just had one in my area last week where a kid fell out a third story window and survived because they got lucky and landed in the landscaping.

[00:04:30] Eric Goranson: And not on the concrete that was right next to it. Got very lucky right there. But, uh, you always, if you do have a kid that experiences a window fall, always get them checked out. You know, make sure that they're taken care of because I tell you what, um, this is such an easily preventable thing that I wanna make sure that we do it as parents, grandparents.

[00:04:49] Eric Goranson: Aunts and uncles, anywhere that that window is open, make sure that we have window locks and a window lock. You can get a handful of 'em for 10 to 20 bucks on Amazon or your local hardware [00:05:00] store. That should be something that's really important. And let's make sure that we save some lives this year because just think about it, we could save so many lives by that.

[00:05:09] Eric Goranson: Uh, you know, you think about, and this is a little dark, but I'm gonna go there, you know, that, um, famous Eric Clapton. Where he is talking about his son, that is because he fell out of a window because he was going to go pick him up, uh, to go to the zoo and uh, the child had fallen. To their death out of their high rise because the window was not locked.

[00:05:35] Eric Goranson: So this can happen to anyone. So it's a very important thing. So when we're talking safety, sorry, not to be the downer, but that's a big deal that we need to pay attention to. Uh, make sure here on smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, of course you just check them to make sure they're working.

[00:05:52] Eric Goranson: But, uh, the big thing with those is to make sure that the carbon monoxide detectors, I like to change those out about [00:06:00] every five years. Smoke detectors no more than 10 years. And I tell you what the, my favorite one that I'm using right now is the Google Nest Protect. None of these things are sponsored here, guys, but, uh, that's the one I use, uh, because I tell you what, that was worth the a hundred dollars purchase because I can now control it with my phone and if, uh, something sets it off, it texts me on my phone and gives me an alert that something's going on.

[00:06:26] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you've got those smoke detectors. Make sure you're following code. Make sure you've got. You know, got 'em in the bedroom, got 'em in the hallway, got 'em near the kitchen. You know, I, I even say near the garage, the more you have, the better off you are. And then, uh, be careful when you put 'em in your bathroom.

[00:06:43] Eric Goranson: Steam can sometimes set these off, so make sure that you have them in the right spot. I have, uh, when I was testing my steam shower, I set mine off in the hallway because I had steam pouring outta the open door. When I was testing my steam shower and, uh, yeah, I'd set mine off because I had steam [00:07:00] coming from that, but it was a lot of steam from the steam shower.

[00:07:02] Eric Goranson: So that's another one. So just make sure that you do that. The smart ones work good. Follow the instructions on 'em. And, uh, when in doubt have 'em hardwired in A lot of the new ones have 10 year lifespans on the batteries that are built in, and then you can dispose 'em. So, uh, just test 'em, make sure they're good.

[00:07:16] Eric Goranson: But, uh, having those dialed in is really important. And, uh, I'll be honest, you can't have too many of those around there. So when a doubt, install another one. Now here's the next one. That is, um, tough for some people and that's even tougher for people that are experiencing, you know, the troubles of hoarding disorder, where you've got some mental illness that has too many things in your life as far as products, but eliminating clutter.

[00:07:48] Eric Goranson: Is one of the biggest things that goes to fall hazards, to fire safety, to building safety. Um, there are so many homes out there and it's [00:08:00] shocking. I have pulled up as a designer to many homes and walked up to the front door and thought it was an absolute normal house, and the door opens and there is stuff up to my chin piled up everywhere within the.

[00:08:17] Eric Goranson: And this happens to people of all incomes, all walks of life. It can happen this way where people collect too many things and that can end up being a very big health hazard because many times at that point they'll have pets that are not taken care of. Uh, if you've got a family member that deals with this, um, I have a family member that deals with this that we haven't addressed.

[00:08:42] Eric Goranson: Um, and I tell you what, it's one of those things that, uh, can absolutely be horrible for them in their health and their life because it ends up having where you've got too many particulate matters, you have unhealthy air, mold, mildew, uh, pets end up having, you know, um, [00:09:00] excrement everywhere. This is just one of the things that go with clutter, but a little bit of clutter.

[00:09:06] Eric Goranson: I get it. But make sure you have clear walking paths. Make sure that, uh, in that clutter that you've got good transitions and floors, things like that. But, uh, clutter can be a huge one, especially that garage that's piled full of stuff and, um, You could have stuff in there that could catch fire and uh, that could be a whole other issue.

[00:09:24] Eric Goranson: All right, when we come back, we've got more of my top 10 safety tips that you probably have forgotten about your house outside of the normal stuff. We'll talk about more of that just as soon as around the house. Returns don't go anywhere.

[00:09:40] Eric Goranson: What's up, Mrs. Stick and Satchel. Diehl Panther and you are listening to Around The House with Eric G. Yeah. We love Eric G and you should too.[00:10:00]

[00:10:03] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. Oh, that's my friends over at Steel Panther. Love those guys. They are not the faint of heart, so if you're easily offended, they're not somebody you want to check out. But I'll tell you what, those guys can put on a rock show. I had a fun time with them last week.

[00:10:18] Eric Goranson: Great people. Well, today we've been talking about our top 10 safety tips. You might have forgotten. For your home, and this is important stuff here and uh, I wanna make sure that you've got these kind of dialed in so you are safe around your house. Last segment we talked about child window locks, making sure those are dialed in and straightened up the smoke detectors, making sure they're updated with your carbon monoxide detectors.

[00:10:40] Eric Goranson: And then the last one was illuminate clutter, which is a big one. Get that clutter outta there. Uh, it'll end up being safe and healthier home. Now here's the next one, and I caught a little grief last week on social media that I need to bring up cuz a, a buddy had some pretty wild extension cord game going on there, but power strips [00:11:00] and extension cords.

[00:11:01] Eric Goranson: Here's the thing, power strips generally are not meant to run heaters. Air conditioners, refrigerators, anything with a high amperage of pull. That's how you start a fire, and I te can't tell you how many little fires I see in offices and things like that for somebody having the space heater plugged into their power strip for their computer under the desk just to keep their feet warm during the winter.

[00:11:33] Eric Goranson: Or I see people that maybe the window is just far enough away from the outlet for the window air conditioner, and they plug that in there, making sure that you have the right gauge and right size power strip and the right gauge extension cord and where you put them. So here's one of the things that I see too.

[00:11:54] Eric Goranson: You know, power strips are one thing, extension cord. You know, the, the more expensive, [00:12:00] the extension cord, generally the better gauge of wire you have. Like if you are gonna use a table saw way out in the backyard and you've got a hundred feet to run power out to, and now today they have plenty of cordless, you know, table saw.

[00:12:17] Eric Goranson: So it's not as big as issue as it was. If you get out there with a light gauge wire, the chance you burning the motor up on the table saw is pretty decent. Because you're pulling way too much through that cord. So when you buy extension cords for DIY projects or things around the house, buy the really big thick contractor cords.

[00:12:40] Eric Goranson: It's gonna keep you from burning up a power tool. Now, many things like air conditioners and uh, even space heaters will tell you do not plug into an extension. Refrigerators, same kind of thing. Do not plug into an extension cord. The power loss is too much, [00:13:00] and uh, you can end up burning up compressors and other pieces, heating elements, things like that.

[00:13:05] Eric Goranson: So make sure you know what you're putting through. And also don't put extension cords through any kind of a doorway. Don't go onto the garage door. Had a family friend burnt their house down, lost three classic cars. That were in the garage because they ran their Christmas light cord under the garage door.

[00:13:24] Eric Goranson: It pinched it, shorted it out, and they had a fire. So make sure that you've got the. Extension cords for what you're doing and make sure you're good that way. That's gonna leave for a safer home. Next one, fireplace cleaning and tuning up. If you've got a gas fireplace, make sure that thing is tuned up, working correctly, have it maintained.

[00:13:43] Eric Goranson: If you have a wood fireplace, when was the last time somebody got in there and looked at the chimney, cleaned it out, made sure the damper's working correctly, make sure the right cap's on there, making sure you don't let start a fire and you got a bird's nest up there. Making sure that the raccoons haven't been trying to do something up there as well.

[00:13:59] Eric Goranson: [00:14:00] Get the fireplace inspected, looking for cracks. Make sure the crea soaps out of there. Make sure that's dialed in and make sure that you don't have any issues. You know, we've got homes now that had stainless steel linings on 'em. Sometimes the people are running hot fires in there. Those can create a whole other issue, so make sure.

[00:14:20] Eric Goranson: You've got that taken care of, that fireplace, cleaning and maintenance is big. And if you've got that wood fireplace and it needs to be relined, have it relined, have it done, take care of it, and then you're gonna be good to go. The side mark on this one is check your gas appliances for leaks. And there have been, you know, the, the.

[00:14:41] Eric Goranson: Natural gas discussion about banning gas stoves because of particulate matter. And many times that particulate matter is because people were not running their ven hoods. But you can have a gas stove, a gas water heater. A gas fireplace, uh, you could have any of those things, [00:15:00] furnace, dryer even that are not working correctly.

[00:15:05] Eric Goranson: So many times you can call and have your gas company come out on a non-emergency basis, and they will test to make sure your appliances are not leaking natural gas or propane. It's propane. It's gonna be the propane company. Natural gas will be your natural gas provider. They have no problem coming out with their sensitive tools and making sure that everything is working correctly.

[00:15:29] Eric Goranson: Now, they might look at you and say, Hey, your range has got a problem. You need to get that fixed. That's broken. They might turn the gas off to that appliance and say, Hey, you got a problem there. This is unhealthy. But now you've found it, right? So make sure that you've got all those things working correctly and that you don't have something that's not working, and that's a free fix.

[00:15:48] Eric Goranson: Guys. Just get on the phone. I'm sure they'll send somebody out to come take a peek at that. And that's another one here too. Just another use. If you're elderly or have limited [00:16:00] abilities for that smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector, if you call your local firehouse and tell them, Hey guys, um, you know, I'm.

[00:16:09] Eric Goranson: 70 years old and I don't feel comfortable getting up on the second story of my foyer to change that smoke detector up there and swap it out. I haven't touched it in years. I bet to those fine ladies and gentlemen will show up and help you do that. Um, I haven't seen it not happen before. There's always, always something, but uh, Uh, they will l happily come out and make sure that you are safe and dialed in.

[00:16:35] Eric Goranson: So make sure that those got, those gas appliances are, are good. They'll test your, your, your, uh, gas meter outside as well and make sure it's good. And that's another important one just to make sure things are running well. And another safety tip that's not on the list. Make sure you're running that ventilation when your cooktop is on.

[00:16:54] Eric Goranson: Think about turning the hood on no matter what you're cooking, even boiling water. Let's, hey, let's [00:17:00] get the, uh, if it's gas, let's get that outta there. If you're boiling water in an electric or an induction, you wanna get that, um, a steam outta there anyway. Get outta your house. So it's a good time to, uh, turn that ventilation fan and get that outside.

[00:17:12] Eric Goranson: Now, if that ventilation fan is one of the recirculating ones where it's blowing air back in your face, There's a DIY project for you. Make sure and replace that to a fan that will vent outside in many areas. Uh, you know, in many states across the country now, they have banned those where if you do a kit remodel, they will not let you put in a recirculating one because those things work about ass good as a recirculating toilet.

[00:17:35] Eric Goranson: You're just putting that, uh, mixing that air that's coming off your stove. That's bad. With the carbon monoxide and the particulate matter and carbon dioxide, all that stuff that's coming off there, you're just circling on the house. That really doesn't do much. You can put a little charcoal filter in there, but I'll be honest, they're fairly worthless.

[00:17:52] Eric Goranson: So make sure you've got a good hood that vents outside. All right, we come back. We got so many more tips here for you today. We've got some good ones, some [00:18:00] stuff that, uh, you might go, oh, that's right. I was thinking about doing. Or ones that you go, oh, I'm meant to do that, or, I had no idea all that coming up.

[00:18:08] Eric Goranson: And more, we'd love to hear you, um, comment and get some feedback from you guys. Head over to around the house on social media. We'd love to hear your feedback or ideas for a subject for an upcoming show Round the House, be right back after these important messages. Don't.

[00:18:34] Eric Goranson: From you, not from,

[00:18:42] Eric Goranson: Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Keel, the Ron Keel Band and Steeler. We are rocking around the house with Eric G. Ray is your first welcome back to The Round the House. Show us where we helped get the most outta your home through information at education. Thanks [00:19:00] for joining us today. We've been talking about the top 10 safety.

[00:19:02] Eric Goranson: You might have forgotten about for your home and some of the things we've talked about so far. Child window locks a huge one. That's why it's the first one. Smoke detector update, carbon monoxide detector, making sure that they're working or even getting smart ones. And by the way, yes, you probably can get your fire department to help you with those, uh, eliminate clutter.

[00:19:20] Eric Goranson: Trying to get rid of that hoarding situation or getting close to that. Power strips and extension cords, how those love to create fires, fireplace cleaning, and then checking out your gas appliances for leaks. Now the next one is a big one here, and I, I know that there are some people out there that don't believe this and, uh, everyone is entitled to their opinion and here is mine, radon.

[00:19:45] Eric Goranson: Is an odorless, invisible, radioactive gas, naturally released from the rocks and soil and water. Rayon can get at homes in buildings through cracks or holes, build up in the air over time, breathing it in high levels of radon can cause [00:20:00] lung cancer. It's really simple. It can. And so here's what you need to do.

[00:20:06] Eric Goranson: And many times, like in my area, for instance, if I buy a house, that house has to have a rate on test before the sale goes through. It's part of the deal. Now I love that safety, but here's the thing, if you have an earthquake or something in your area or other things like that, like rock plaing or something like that, that can actually change the radar level.

[00:20:29] Eric Goranson: So if you've radar level, if you've got no radar and you have like a four point earthquake, I would sure have it tested again because this comes up through the ground in the soil, in the rocks, and if you shake that up a little bit, that crack that wasn't putting it into your basement or crawlspace or under the slab of your house could then be putting up in there.

[00:20:56] Eric Goranson: So I always wanna make sure that you're testing. [00:21:00] That radon level. Now, here's one thing that we had happen as well. I had somebody from a well, and they were getting radon through the water, so there was radon in the water that was coming in. So when they were taking showers, they were getting high levels of radon from that.

[00:21:17] Eric Goranson: Is that rare? Yes. Can it happen? Absolutely. So, you know, a couple things. Uh, you could always contact your state radon office for specific information and resources for testing and qualified radon testers. And then there are radon reduction systems that you can install, which is the mitigation system basically.

[00:21:37] Eric Goranson: And, um, The EPA recommends installing a system if your radon level is at or above four picocuries per liter of air. So I'll be honest, if you're at four, I would be doing it anyway. Um, I think if you're a lot lower than that, I would spend the money. Uh, because you know, you haven't, and, uh, who says it couldn't [00:22:00] increase, obviously it's in the area.

[00:22:02] Eric Goranson: If I was less than that, I would sure work on that mitigation system. So things you can do as well. Um, if you're an apartment or rental that you're worried about, that you can increase airflow in your house by opening windows using fans and vents to circulate air. You know, make sure that you're sealing the cracks and floors and walls, you know, and that does help, but that gas does go through concrete, so you just be careful.

[00:22:27] Eric Goranson: It is a very small thing, so you can reduce that stuff. But really, if you're buying a new home, make sure that they're doing radon resistant construction techniques. And, um, you know, that's, uh, one other thing and there's a multiplier on this as well that I don't have to tell you. People that smoke and have radon are much more likelier to have lung cancer than just if they had radon.

[00:22:55] Eric Goranson: So those two combined can be a big problem. And, uh, make sure with the rate on thing that you've [00:23:00] got that dialed in, always have it tested. I'd have it tested every number of years. Make sure if you're in an area for me, I could have no rate on at my house today. I can walk down seven houses and have raydon.

[00:23:13] Eric Goranson: So just because I can walk down my street and see them all over the place that, uh, in my area we have got 'em. And, uh, there have been some very cases, even in my city here where people died from lung cancer that were not smokers that had no other known exposure or anything like that, but the rayon in their house got 'em.

[00:23:32] Eric Goranson: So just be very careful with that. Now here's another one that I think is really important. And I think it's something that we've gotta think ahead with, and that is an escape plan. You know, half the time of your day is usually spent in the bedroom. If you had a fire in the hallway, how are you getting out?

[00:23:52] Eric Goranson: So think about that. Do you have an option? Do you have a, uh, a patio door to go out? Do you have a window to go out? Are you on [00:24:00] the second or third floor? Is there a roof that you can drop down to? What is in the way of you getting outta that building? Now it's taken another notch. Your kids, how easy is it for them to get outta the building?

[00:24:14] Eric Goranson: And this is egress is what we're talking about here. I know as so many people that have basement bedrooms that don't have egress windows in 'em, and there's really no way for them to sneak out through those windows to get out. If you can't have a firefighter come in to grab somebody, you're in trouble.

[00:24:34] Eric Goranson: So that is not a safe bedroom. So make sure that you've got an escape plan on how to get out. Now here's my concern, um, that you need to be careful with. If you have solar panels on the roof or things like that, you need to be very careful that you are escaping to an area that doesn't have those solar panels.

[00:24:54] Eric Goranson: If you're jumping out of roof onto a lower roof, for instance, and I see a lot of those, just make sure that you're not [00:25:00] anywhere near those. Because here's the thing, if you've got roof trusses and you've got an attic fire, Those, uh, trusses don't last long, five, 10 minutes, usually before they start coming apart because they're just held with those stamped metal clips.

[00:25:12] Eric Goranson: When those clips get hot and they roll out, the truss fails and, uh, they do not last long if there's no other fasteners in them. So something to think about when you're escaping outta that. So make sure you've got a plan. Where are you gonna meet up? Where are you gonna meet up with those kids? Are you gonna be in and outta the building?

[00:25:28] Eric Goranson: Uh, you know, are you d meeting at the mailbox? Are you meeting at the neighbor's mailbox? Are you across the street where you're at and have that escape plan is big. Part of that escape plan is if you're in an area with tornadoes or any kind of a natural disaster where you've got a hurricane or windstorms or even an earthquake, where is your place that is the safest in the home to go hide?

[00:25:52] Eric Goranson: Where is that location? Where is it? Do you have some supplies there? Do you have ways to communicate in [00:26:00] there? Do you have any way to get out of that location? So just think about that. If you've got that room that's, you know, maybe under the stairs, cuz the stairs are strong in the basement, that's a great place to be.

[00:26:11] Eric Goranson: Sometimes, you know, you just wanna have a place that has no Windows Center part of the house. If you're in the basement, you know, great, but have some stuff stored there. Be prepared for that. And that's a big one. So have that part of your escape plan. Where are you going to be going? And that's gonna be a key right there.

[00:26:30] Eric Goranson: So think that out, plan it out. Work it out with the kids. I'm not saying they need to jump out the window, but have them understand if there's a rope type safety ladder, they need to throw out, do they know how to operate it? Do they know where they're gonna meet you? That can be a good way to go. They're gonna get out the window if you give 'em the opportunity.

[00:26:47] Eric Goranson: So just make sure that you've got that situation lined up and you're good to go. All right, everybody. Well, when we come back, I've got our last two here, which are big ones, and uh, I think these are really important ones that we forget [00:27:00] about all the time. And, uh, would love to hear your comments. Uh, head over to around the house, Facebook page, around the House Show, and you could fight us over there.

[00:27:08] Eric Goranson: Or you can find me at the TV page, which is around the House Northwest, and you can find that there. Love to hear your feedback. If there's a subject that you want to hear me talk about, I do take requests. So if it's something that we haven't talked about in a while or it's a new topic, I would love to hear from you and you can message us over there.

[00:27:24] Eric Goranson: Put up a post, say, Hey, I'd like to hear this. We would appreciate that. That means a lot to us here at the show. And, uh, we'd love to interact with you our, make sure you follow our YouTube page, which is over. Take a look at YouTube disco to, uh, KP tv, Fox 12, Oregon. And then you can get over to the playlist, which is around the house.

[00:27:43] Eric Goranson: You can find us over there and you can find, uh, all the videos over there. We've got a lot of great DIY projects. We've got some features, uh, what I call Maiden Northwest, which is our. Basically made an America segment that we're doing of all these great products that you can find out there [00:28:00] that are sold across the United States.

[00:28:02] Eric Goranson: And guess what? They're made right here in America, and we're trying to highlight those American workers and what they're doing for us. We'll rack after these important messages. Don't go anywhere.

[00:28:44] Eric Goranson: Gets the end of the show now. Drinking down people, it's time to go. It's that time again, it's last call. Welcome back to. A house show where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Hey, make sure you're following us on all our social media channels. We've got around the [00:29:00] House Show on Facebook, Instagram, and uh, you can find me Eric Corson on Twitter as well as the Around The House Show over on Instagram.

[00:29:08] Eric Goranson: And uh, well of course Facebook four, the TV show, and that'll be around the House Northwest. We've been talking about those safety tips today. My top. And here's one of the big ones right here that's worth a, a few minutes talking about. And, uh, the UL Fire Safety Research Institute, which is a, a group that I follow, and they're packed with tons of great information.

[00:29:30] Eric Goranson: They have a, a, basically a saying, which is close before you doze this. This is about closing that door before you go to sleep, making sure that everyone is closing that. And this is interesting. It is very interesting to see from fire safety research, what a difference it is to have a door shut and a door open.

[00:29:57] Eric Goranson: Even if you have one of those really [00:30:00] cheesy Cardboardy hollow core doors. How much it makes a difference. You know, using thermal imaging cameras, reachers found researchers found that the closed door rooms on both floors during a fire spread. Had average temperatures of less than a hundred degrees Fahrenheit versus the thousand degrees in the open door rooms.

[00:30:22] Eric Goranson: So that gives you a, a remarkable difference in a room of trying to last longer. I mean, that is huge. Gas, uh, concentrations were marked differently as well. The open door bedroom nearly measured, uh, it had a, a very toxic 10,000 ppm, which is the parts per million of carbon monoxide while the closed door had a hundred.

[00:30:46] Eric Goranson: So that is something that in an evolving fire environment is a big deal. So we started to see that, you know, as the fire goes, You know, with an open layout, that furnishings and construction materials, they all [00:31:00] burned pretty easily. You know, one of the things that we did to stop people from getting cancer from chemicals is we took away a lot of the fire retardants that were there in the seventies and eighties because, well, you know, they, they probably gave people cancer, so they got rid of those.

[00:31:14] Eric Goranson: Unfortunately, now many of those products in our houses don't have that, so things become toxic, faster things burn faster. And so the advice always is sleep with the bedroom door closed. If there's a fire, there's no time to act, and uh, that will give you time to make it happen. If you're a parent with children in the home, as soon as that smoke alarm goes off, you know, maybe you can't get to the room because a smoke, if you've closed your door before they go to bed, it gives you that time to get outside and get into that window and help save them.

[00:31:50] Eric Goranson: So these are those simple steps. It's almost more important than that. Stop, drop and roll is close your door when you go to bed. [00:32:00] That is gonna be a big one, so make sure you do that. Uh, it is a huge difference. And uh, if you want more information on that, head over to the fsri.org and go over their programs and look at the close before your dose.

[00:32:12] Eric Goranson: They have some amazing videos over there. That is a big deal. To make sure that you're doing that safely. So that's a big one. Now here's another one that's really important. Um, and it's good for kids and for earthquakes, tying down all that furniture. Now, if it's tall or it could fall over like a dresser or a bureau or any of those tall things, even when you're getting into.

[00:32:40] Eric Goranson: Um, TV cabinets, which are less prominent these days. Uh, any one of those bookshelves, that kind of stuff, everything should be tied down and make sure that it's tied onto the wall. You know that you've noticed that with a Kia, now they're giving you a tie down kit when you purchase their drawers. Uh, this should be done in every single place in the [00:33:00] house because what happens if you've got a toddler in there?

[00:33:02] Eric Goranson: That ends up being the first two drawers into being steps and they climb up and it falls over. Uh, I know of many people as kids that have been hurt that way, and then if you have an earthquake or something like that, or a natural disaster, you don't want those things flying around. You want that attached to the wall.

[00:33:19] Eric Goranson: So make sure. That you've got that dialed in, make sure that all those things are tied down. You can get these tie downs online. You can get 'em at your home improvement store, go around and attach all these things and, and it's not a big deal. You can put a single screw into the wall to grab the stud. A lot of 'em have straps that you can unattach, move it around.

[00:33:38] Eric Goranson: Simple patch. It's not gonna be something destructive, but attaching everything down and making sure that's good. Another tip that I have as well is, They make the sticky stuff, which is basically, it's a museum wax. I have a couple cool rock and roll figurines that are on my bar in my, in my living room, and I don't want 'em to get knocked off.

[00:33:59] Eric Goranson: So what did I [00:34:00] do? I put a couple tabs of that down there on the surface. It doesn't hurt the piece. It doesn't hurt the surface, but it sticks it there. Now can you rip it off there? Sure. During an earthquake, it's gonna stay there probably. This is something that's not gonna get knocked off and brushed off of a shelf.

[00:34:16] Eric Goranson: Absolutely. So using things like that to help keep yourself kind of dialed in is gonna be better for you and it's safer and you don't ruin stuff. I mean, it's amazing what can move around. When I was in an earthquake, we ended up having, um, I had a picture that was on, you know, a little floating shelf. It was touching between the floating shelf and the wall.

[00:34:35] Eric Goranson: It was kind of in that as a 45 degree. From that bouncing around on the shelf, it never fell off. It broke the glass in it from it bouncing around on the shelf. So making sure that stuff's tiled in One of the projects I have coming up is I need to do a better job of making sure all of my pictures, I have some heavy artwork, I need to go around and make sure that that stuff is dialed in as well.

[00:34:59] Eric Goranson: I don't want those to [00:35:00] come off of a nail or a hook and come falling down, especially stuff that's over couches and things like that, and hallways and uh, places like that. So make sure you got that stuff dialed in. Make sure that stuff is tied down and you're good to go for safety. And that's a great one.

[00:35:15] Eric Goranson: Now, the honorable mention in this episode is gonna be being ready for a natural disaster all by itself. Now this, we're not gonna get into all the prepper stuff here, cuz that could be another six episodes that we're not gonna dive into. But I wanted to make sure that you are getting the stuff that you have ready around your house for that.

[00:35:33] Eric Goranson: And these are those things that get forgotten. So make sure that you've got a way to. Water that is filtered. So having some water stored, if you've got a body water near you, you might be able to use a filter and take it outta there. I have a huge lake that's not going anywhere and some rivers, so I have water that's around me, so I have ways to grab water and carry it cuz it's within, you know, quarter of a mile that I can carry water back if I had to.

[00:35:58] Eric Goranson: So I've got a [00:36:00] filtration system for that. Make sure that you've got a way to create. Don't plant of natural gas and propane working. You know, do you have a way to to start a fire and to heat up water? That way you can cook some freeze dried food that you've got stored away. So having that food ready, having, you know, a couple weeks of food will buy you so much time cuz we've learned this, uh, you know, and, and nothing against the United States federal government here, but FEMA takes a while to spool up if you have a natural disaster.

[00:36:32] Eric Goranson: It could take a week. It could take 10 days for the somebody to show up to help you, and it could be overwhelming a system. So make sure that you've got that ready to go. You want to have that life sustaining stuff. So you want to have food, water. You wanna have a couple tarps for shelter duct tape in case you have the tap tape up stuff around your house.

[00:36:52] Eric Goranson: You can do that. Next, I'm gonna say light, and make sure that you've got a way to charge up your [00:37:00] phone and stuff like that. So, you know, keeping your cars more fully fueled. If you always keep your car, you know, fueled up, don't let it get down to that quarter tank. When you pull in home, if you can keep it a half or more, that bites you a ton of time to be able to go out there and maybe charge a device or two or uh, if you've got an inverter in there to be able to charge up multiple things so you could have some sort of power.

[00:37:23] Eric Goranson: So make sure you've got that. Some of these new electric vehicles out there have got. Ways to power up as well that you can use that if you've got solar, it's something that you can use. But again, making sure that you've got that and as well as your pets. Don't forget those. If you've got dogs, if you've got cats, if you've got those kind of pets around the house, make sure you've got food for a few weeks for 'em.

[00:37:43] Eric Goranson: Don't always be running outta that last little bit. You know, one thing you can do is if you got that big bag of dog food, have two. And just keep working through it. And that other one can sit there for a little bit. That way you've got more than enough food for everybody because you don't have to be given the food dog, you know, or cat your [00:38:00] food to keep them alive.

[00:38:01] Eric Goranson: Make sure that you're good there and, uh, as long as you've got some light flashlights. Uh, I'm a big proponent of having tool batteries with lights because usually you've got those charged up if you're taking care of your tools and you've got those things charged up. So, You've got other sources of light.

[00:38:16] Eric Goranson: If you've got four or five sources of light, you can do that and you can charge those things back up and you'll be good to go. All of that is gonna make for a safer house. And, uh, just make sure that you've got these things dialed in. This is really easy for everybody to do out there. Most of these things are not expensive.

[00:38:31] Eric Goranson: And, uh, you know, I, I, it's one thing to have extra food in the pantry. I know food's expensive, but you can buy some of those freed freeze-dried packets to put in your, uh, in the top of the closet or something that you have access to, and you'll be good to go. And those things last for decades. So you buy it once, forget about it.

[00:38:47] Eric Goranson: All right, everybody. Have a great rest of the week. Thanks for tuning into around the house. We'll see you next week