Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners!

Halloween Safety Tips!  

 Make your house Trick-Or-Treater Friendly!

Halloween is an exciting holiday for kids of all ages. It is FUN to dress up, get together with friends, and go door-to-door in search of the best treats in the neighborhood.

Whether you are in a development full of little ghosts, goblins, superheroes and princesses or you only have a few costumed visitors, you’ll want to be sure your yard and front steps are safe and welcoming. Plan ahead to prevent unfortunate accidents that could ruin a festive evening.

Here are a few pointers to keep your home a safe place for trick-or-treaters on October 31st!

Keep Pets in Check. Dogs, cats, and other furry family members can be agitated when oddly dressed strangers approach the front door. Make sure your pet is in a safe and comfortable place away from costumed visitors.
Keep Walkway and Steps Clean and Clear. Pack away the toys, rakes and other yard tools, hoses and rake the leaves. Make sure the path to your front door is free of potential hazards like electrical cords and pumpkins.too.
Keep it Lit!. Spooky is fun but if it is too dark, it could be dangerous. Make sure the path to your candy bowl is well-lit. 


I hope your family has a frightfully fun-filled, but very safe Halloween with no tricks but many, many treats!

Looking to Buy or Sell a Home?  If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2014 www.terieckholm.com

CO Detectors Now REQUIRED in ALL Minnesota Homes

It’s August and air conditioning weather. Few Minnesotans are thinking about their furnace and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning when windows are open almost daily to let in the fresh summer breezes. This summer, however, Minnesotans need think about CO detectors as a new law went into effect on August 1st requiring that every new and existing single family home have a carbon monoxide detector installed within 10 feet of every room used for sleeping! (Multi-family homes and apartment buildings must comply by August 1,2009.)

Understanding the new law

As with any new law, there is confusion as to where the CO detectors need to be located. The State Fire Marshall gives these directions:

• Every single family dwelling and every multifamily dwelling unit shall be provided with a minimum of one approved and fully operational carbon monoxide alarm installed within ten (10) feet of each room lawfully used for sleeping purposes.



• If bedrooms are located on separate floors additional carbon monoxide alarms would be necessary within ten feet of these areas.


• If bedrooms are located in separate areas (on the same level), additional carbon monoxide alarms would be necessary within ten (10) feet of these areas.

If you need further information on Minnesota’s new carbon monoxide detector law, visit the Minnesota Fire Marshall Website at www.fire.state.mn.us
What does this mean for a home seller?
If you do not have CO detectors in your home, you will need to purchase and install them as required or expect any inspector to rate your home as hazardous for not being up to current code. As it just makes good sense to have CO detectors in your home, go out today and make the investment for the safety of yourself and your family members. Not because it is the law, but because it is the right thing to do.
Carbon Monoxide is a SCARY gas!
The scary thing about CO poisoning is that it has no odor or color. There is no warning that there has been any exposure to anything! Most people die or become seriously ill when exposed to the gas because they think they have the flu or a virus. The initial symptoms are similar to many illnesses: nausea, headache, fatigue. When a person has been seriously exposed, there is confusion. This, combined with severe drowsiness, is often a lethal combination as the affected person or persons cannot think straight and often just lie down and go to sleep without knowing that they are being poisoned.
There are simple and inexpensive ways to protect your family from this deadly poison. The time is now to take those steps!

• Don't leave a fire to burn out and smolder in your fireplace.



• Don't use your stove, range, oven or dryer as a heat source.



• Never leave your car to warm up in your garage-Even with the door open.



• Never barbecue inside your home or garage.



• Have furnace and other fuel burning appliances checked regularly by qualified professional and verify that all appliances are adequately ventilated.



• Check periodically that your vents and chimneys are not blocked by a nest or other debris. (Or two feet of snow that just fell in Minnesota this past week!)



• Purchase and place Carbon Monoxide detectors that have a loud alarm within 10 feet of every bedroom in your home.

Even if you don't leave in Minnesota, don't wait for your state to enact a law. This law is only on the books in Minnesota because a large number of people have died needlessly. Protect yourself and your family by purchasing a CO detector with an alarm. For under $50, it is one of the best investments you can make in your home.
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If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.
Copyright 2008 terieckholm.com

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Someone PLEASE make that Smoke Alarm STOP!

As a parent and homeowner, safety is a number one priority in my home. That is why as a Realtor, I was often puzzled, even concerned, when I visit a home with disabled smoke alarms. I just never understood the logic of removing batteries or unplugging hard-wired safety devices. I never understood it until I lived with a set of defective alarms for several months on end.

Last November it started. It was shortly after we installed new batteries at daylight savings time the first chirps started. A few evenings later about 3A.M. we were awoken by the smoke alarm going off in the kitchen on the main level of our two-story Ham Lake house. By the time we got downstairs, the alarm had stopped. It had not triggered the other six alarms that are hardwired throughout our home. We figured that since we had just turned on our forced air furnace, maybe dust was the cause. This seems to happen every autumn once or twice so we went to back to bed.

Around Christmas, the alarms started to go off about once a week in the middle of the night. I was beginning to understand why I would see alarms with removed batteries in listings throughout the Twin Cities, as this was annoying!

I did a bit of online research. Smoke detectors should be vacuumed periodically as dust and tiny spiders can cause malfunction and false alarms. It was also noted that smoke alarms should be replaced every ten years. We opted for the cleaning route and vacuumed all seven alarms the next morning.

In March we contacted an electrician about having seven new Firex alarms installed. We were assured that these top of the line detectors would eliminate the problems. A few weeks later, we were $400 poorer but positive it would be worth it for a good night’s sleep. The electrician’s truck had not made it down the road before the next set of chirps began.

This was the first of several visits from the electrician to our Ham Lake home. He returned the next week to verify there were no loose wires. He also replaced the unit in the hallway that seemed to make the most noise. Again, within an hour there was a chirp, chirp, chirp. Now, I have an upset electrician along with a tired and upset family.

I did a Google search and ended up at the Firex website. The company has a frequently asked question page that is a wealth of information. What a great resource. Newer alarms must be reset after the batteries are installed. To reset the alarm, you need to depress the test button for 15 seconds with the battery removed. Great! Problem solved! A good night’s sleep is ahead.

Wrong! About 12 hours later, it started again. Back to the list of options from the Firex site. We called the electrician back to put all of the alarms on one circuit so we could shut off the alarms and be certain that poor wiring in another part of the home wasn’t setting off the alarm. One more tense visit from the electrician and we were now on our own with the noisy, frustrating problem.

After months of this noisy protection of malfunctioning alarms, we found you can learn to sleep through the noise but never really get used to it. The four periodic chirps were nerve grating to say the least. On the first chirp our neurotic geriatric dog would get up and move closer to the nearest person. On the second chirp he would try sit as close as he possibly could and stare with big sad eyes. The third chirp would cause him to shutter and with the final chirp he would lay down at your feet shaking.

Finally in August we had enough and were ready to disable all of the hardwired smoke alarms in our home and install battery operated ones. I now understood the decision made by so many others to put a good nights sleep over fire protection.
Before we cut the wires, we tried one more time to resolve the issue. We took down all seven alarms, reset them and installed seven new batteries. One of the smoke alarms would sound as soon as the battery was installed. Bingo! We had the problem unit in hand. So we installed the six good alarms and waited.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Finally I resorted to calling the 800 number for Firex technical support. They were very concerned about our wanting to remove these safety products from our home that were designed for our protection, not annoyance. They offered to replace the defective alarm and sent out a new one via overnight mail. But the technician did not stop there. He wanted to help us resolve the continuing problem. The tech asked if there could be anything else that would cause a noise. Check the attic and check for Carbon Monoxide detectors. The sound of a plugged in CO2 detector can travel echo through the house and sound like it is coming from the smoke detector. We had checked the attic previously but did not check the carbon monoxide detector as we they are electric not battery operated.

Of course I had forgotten that we now had two CO2 detectors. The newest one was installed in the hallway near our bedrooms. After a quick check I realized that the new model DID have a battery backup. It was the source of many of the annoying chirps. So lesson learned. Change the batteries in your CO2 detectors right along with the smoke detectors. Not certain if your carbon dioxide detector has a battery backup? Check it now. It could mean a good night’s sleep in your future.

If you are relocating to Minnesota, are looking for Homes for Sale in the north and east Twin Cities metro area and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage properties! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2007 www.terieckholm.com/