UL — MomStart

Commit a Minute To Holiday Safety

Oh the Holiday Crazies are among us. Family everywhere, frantic shopping, constant traffic, perfectly wrapping, decorating the house, cooking food, cooking desserts, cooking cooking cooking, party planning and need I go on? What aren’t we doing this time of year, oh I know, we’re not getting sleep. As a mom, you know life can get extremely busy while preparing for the holidays. However, sometimes the focus on celebrating can turn fun festivities into injuries and accidents if safety is not a priority for families. Studies show that nearly 230 people will visit the emergency room each day in November and December to be treated for holiday-related injuries.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a leading independent safety organization, is calling all parents, specifically moms, to set aside time in their schedule to commit at least one minute to safety each day this holiday season. You know who UL is right, they have their label on almost every single cable you can find that goes into an electrical socket, but they do more than that, they are on appliances, always thinking about safety in everything we do.

We’re committing to Holiday Safety as a family and I invite you to as well.

My husband decorated the house last weekend, he let the kids help in ways that were age appropriate.

He checked all of the cords, extension cords, and made sure they were safe to use and the indoor cords were used indoors and the outdoor cords were all outdoors. He carefully checked voltage, and organized the cords where they are not tangled in any way. And we placed one of the cables at our front door under our welcome mat so no one will trip on the cord on their way into our house. (we have smart neighbors, Thanks Robin!)

Here are a few more tips from UL:

Focus on the Fireplace
Move stockings and holiday decorations off the mantle before starting a fire in your fireplace and always use the fireplace screen. Recycle wrapping paper instead of burning it in your fireplace. Burning wrapping paper could produce dangerous sparks or flares of intense heat.
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Stay Warm Safely
Look for the UL Mark on your space heater and read the instructions before using it. Move space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn (e.g., curtains, blankets) and never leave a space heater on when you leave the room or go to sleep. Be sure to teach children (and practice it yourself) to never place anything on top of a space heater to dry.
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Keep Watch in the Kitchen
The kitchen is a busy place from Thanksgiving through the holiday season. Never leave anything cooking unattended, not even for a minute. Turn pot handles inward so that little hands can’t grab them. And keep your kitchen and your cooking area free of clutter to avoid unnecessary accidents.
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Use Candles with Care
Walk around your home and move candles away from anything that can burn. Store matches and lighters away from children and be sure to blow out candles before you leave the room or go to sleep. Never leave a burning candle unattended.

Easy Electrical Safety
Check electrical outlets and make sure they are not overloaded. Look for the UL Mark on all your electrical cords and holiday lights. When decorating, inspect cords for damage and fraying and always keep extension cords away from where children play. Never run an extension cord under a rug or tack it up to a wall with a nail or staple.
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I have to say one other thing that happened today, make sure you watch your children when they are playing. I wasn’t paying attention to my son this morning and he pulled one of our stocking right off the mantle today and I’m lucky that the letter P, the stocking holder, didn’t hit him in the head and knock him off of the fire place. It would have left a nasty bruise. Kids and Christmas do go together but keep it safe!!

Enter to Win:

100.00 Visa Gift Card

To Enter:

Just leave a comment on this post telling me how you plan to commit to safety this Holiday Season!

The Gift Card provided for the giveaway is my compensation for this post and I wanted to share it with my readers. By posting this and all of you leaving comments, I will be entered into a contest to win a 250.00 Gift Card from UL. The blogger with the most comments wins! Thank you for your participation!

This giveaway ends December 31st.

Protect Your family with CO monitors in your house #giveaway

I hear of people dying every year from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. If you have a fireplace, wood burning stove, or use gas of any kind you really should invest in a CO monitor. Some smoke detectors have the CO detectors included in them.

CO is caused by incomplete burning of fuel, propane, kerosene, gasoline, oil, natural gas, wood and charcoal. And because it is odorless and colorless it is a silent killer, people just die in their sleep. It even causes you to be drowsy, so you’ll never know what is going on. It is preventable though. It is recommended that you follow three steps: Inspect, Protect, and Detect. The Following details come directly from UL (Underwriters Laboratories).

Inspect

· Don’t forget to inspect! Fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, hot water heaters and stoves require yearly maintenance. Over time, components can become damaged or deteriorate. Have a qualified technician inspect your fuel-burning appliances once a year as they can identify and repair problems with your fuel-burning appliances.

Protect

· Protect your family, especially while they sleep. Purchase and install UL-LISTED CO alarms outside each sleeping area, including the basement and any other locations required by applicable laws. Read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully before installing a CO alarm. The UL-LISTING on a CO alarm means the product has been found free of foreseeable hazards and is safer for your family.

· Is your CO alarm installed in the right place? Do not place a CO alarm within five feet of household chemicals. And, avoid placing your alarm directly on top of or near fuel-burning appliances as these appliances will emit some CO when initially turned-on.

· Make sure you test, so your alarm works the best! Test and replace the battery in your CO alarm at least once a year. If your alarm is wired directly into your home’s electrical system, you should test it monthly. If your unit operates off of a battery, test the alarm monthly and replace the battery at least once a year.

· Know the signs of potential CO poisoning. CO poisoning may be the cause of flu-like symptoms such as headaches, tightness of chest, dizziness, fatigue, confusion and breathing difficulties. Because CO poisoning often causes a victim’s blood pressure to rise, the victim’s skin may take on a pink or red cast.

Detect

· If your CO alarm goes off – GET OUT – quickly and safely! Practice a CO safety escape plan with your family so everyone knows how to react to a CO alarm. If your alarm sounds, evacuate the building and call the fire department. If you or your loved ones experience symptoms of CO poisoning – headache, dizziness or other flu-like symptoms – seek medical attention immediately. And, when you return home, be sure to open windows and doors for ventilation. Then, call a qualified technician to inspect your appliances.

· Be alert, don’t get hurt! Streaks of carbon or soot around the service door of your fuel-burning appliances, moisture collecting on the windows and walls of furnace rooms and fallen soot from the fireplace or small amounts of water leaking from the base of the chimney are all signs of a CO problem in your home.

UL is sponsoring a giveaway on Mom Start. They are providing 5 CO detectors for me to giveaway.

To Enter:

Tell me the best location for you to put the CO alarm in your house?

Extra Entries:

Advertise this giveaway on any giveaway site, blog, or facebook and tell me where you advertised it (include link to giveaway). 5 Extra Entries for each one you do
Subscribe to my blog (recommended so that you don’t miss winner’s announcements)
Follow me on twitter tell me your twitter ID
Tweet about the giveaway and include a link to the giveaway
Comment on any other non-giveaway post
Add my button on any site you own
Click on my Suave Link and leave a comment for every time you click on it. It’s easy!

Give me Smiles on my Cozi Journal

The contest will run until March 1st 11:59 pm Pacific. The winner will be selected by www.random.org. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.