by Mike Darling
Even if you don't have a gas leak detector in your house, you can tell if you have a leak in your house through the following ways...
Rotten egg fumes are in your house. Since gas is odorless in its pure state, the gas provider puts in a very distinct rotten egg smell to warn you if you have a leak.
You see dirt coming out of the ground, which means that an outdoor pipe has burst, or you hear a hissing noise.
Theres a good chance that you have a leak if the connections to a natural gas appliance are broken or loose.
When you find out the general location of the leak, the next thing you have to do is to pinpoint the exact source of the leak. You can easily do this by mixing some soap and water and applying it to where you think the leak is.
After you apply the soapy mixture you should start seeing bubbles, which will tell you exactly where the leak is located. You may be fortunate and have some bubbles coming from the connection, at the end of the tube, which means that all you have to do is tighten it a bit. Make sure not to shut off the gas valve, or you will have no gas to help you spot the source of the leak.
Some online sources of information tell you to immediately evacuate your house if you suspect gas in your house and others say that it is okay to stay and fix it yourself. What should you do? Use your own intuition. If the rotten odor smell is not that much, repair it yourself. If the smell is overpowering, by all means, evacuate your house and call 911.
Regardless of whether you stay or leave your house, you cannot use any electrical devices (this even means no telephone use). An electrical spark may ignite the gas in the air and make an explosion. It goes without saying that you should not smoke as well.
What if you do not smell or hear anything that points to a gas leak? How can you be absolutely sure that you do not have one? This is where gas leak detector products come in handy, which you can get at your local home improvement shop or online, and which go for around $50 to $300.
When browsing gas leak detectors, it is better if you first read user reviews, online, from sites such as Amazon. The main problem with these devices is that they make many false alarms. You want one with good sensitivity.
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August 18 2009 | home security | No Comments »
by Jennifer Bales
There is additional attention given to disaster response, emergency supplies and emergency planning and there has been a surge in sales of 72 hour go bags and emergency kits, sometimes called bug out bags. Many kits have the same supplies.
All Kits contain basic tools, and hygiene and first aid supplies. The product line up from each category depends on how many individuals the kit is supposed to support and, not surprisingly, the cost. Unless you assemble a kit one piece at a time, it's hard to fond something perfectly suited to your family. But that needs to change. Soon you'll easily be able to include an assortment of other useful products like GPS trackers, supplementary power, equipment repair kits and more choices for food, water and communication. But something that I feel is missing from the current kits are personal defence and security options and I think that's a mistake. Consider what kind of situations your preparing for. Since natural and man made disasters and emergencies are the reasons we buy these emergency supplies, ask yourself, under those circumstances, will people be at their best?
Not too likely, is it? The sad truth is that whe society is threatened we'll see vandalism, looting, theft and violent crimes. It puts defense products in a new light - doesn't it? There are lots of products to choose from so if you're opposed to something that seems too luch like a weapon you can at least have some alarms, or police quality flashlights. At least. Also, there are lots of OC pepper spray alternatives- as long as you are living where pepper sprays are legal. Also there are pepper sprays used for animal deterrents and those sprays are more widely allowed. You'll find your choices are not limited.
Tasers & Stun guns are also candidates to include with your kits. Like it or not, they could very easily prove to be necessary. If you do include them with your kits, be sure that you check them periodically to make sure they're functioning properly. And don't forget about the batteries. While we're talking about it, store them safely, far from the reach of children. They're weapons that can be harmful. Although a taser can be used as a stun gun after the cartridges have been discharged, you'll probably want to have an extra cartridge on hand.
Finally, you should really consider some self defense training. You'll learn more than physical technique. You'll learn how to stop certain situations from escalating and how to not look like a victim. Actually, you might want to learn these skills anyway.
So when you're bringing all your emergency supplies into one place, give some though about whether there should be some defense products in there as well.
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May 11 2009 | home security | No Comments »