Thursday, 21 March 2013 15:10

Written by Administrator

0 Comments

Article sponsored by Vincent Crotty Memorial Foundation

(Family Features) Freshen up your home with a simple pantry staple that can handle all your cleaning needs without the harsh chemicals or heavy price tag. Here are some fast and easy ways to get your home looking, feeling and smelling fresh in no time with baking soda.

Destroy Kitchen Odors

• Deodorize smelly drains and disposals, and keep lingering odors from resurfacing by pouring baking soda down the drain while running warm tap water.
• Absorb lingering food odors in the dishwasher with just a sprinkle 1/2 cup of baking soda in the bottom.
• Soak stale-smelling sponges in a strong baking soda solution to neutralize the odor (4 tablespoons baking soda dissolved in 1 quart of warm water).
• Keep recyclables from smelling unpleasant by sprinkling baking soda on top as you add to the container. You can also clean the recycling container with baking soda on a damp sponge.

Safely Clean Kids’ Rooms and Toys

• Freshen up stuffed animals that can collect everyday odors by sprinkling with baking soda. Let sit for 15 minutes and then brush off to remove residue.
• Refresh your closet and keep clothes smelling like new with an open box of baking soda on the shelf. Remember to replace every 30 days or use the Fresh-N-Natural Baking Soda Box.
• For a safe, gentle clean, soak plastic baby toys in a solution of 4 tablespoons baking soda dissolved in 1 quart of warm water. Wash them off with a clean, damp sponge or cloth, rinse and dry.
• Deodorize the diaper pail with baking soda, sprinkling some on top of dirty diapers to neutralize odors until you can empty the container.

Tackle the Bathroom

• Glub in the tub? For safe, effective, scratch-free cleaning of bathroom tubs and sinks sprinkle baking soda lightly on a clean damp sponge, scrub as usual and rinse.
• Clean and deodorize a vinyl shower curtain by sprinkling baking soda directly on a clean, damp sponge. Scrub the shower curtain, rinse clean and hang it up to dry.
• To get rid of dirt and grime from tile or no-wax floors, mix 1/2 cup baking soda in a bucket of warm water. Mop and rinse the floor clean.

Bring Life to the Living Areas

• Guests on their way? Freshen carpets, upholstered furniture and pet beds fast by sprinkling baking soda on the surface. Wait 15 minutes and then vacuum.
• Keep the litter box fresh, too. Cover the bottom of the box with baking soda, and then fill as usual with litter. In between litter changes, sprinkle baking soda on top of the litter.

If you’re looking for a convenient cleaning product, try the new ARM & HAMMER™ 5 lb Water Resistant Plastic Pouch, which comes with a handy scoop and is now available in the cleaning aisle. You can find more helpful tips to keep your whole house fresh and clean at www.armandhammer.com. 

Article sponsored by Vincent Crotty Memorial Foundation

Tuesday, 19 February 2013 00:00

Written by Administrator

0 Comments

(Family Features) When a home fire occurs, you have very little time to get out. A working smoke alarm doubles your chances of survival, yet more than twenty percent of American homes are without them. This means roughly 23 million homes are at risk because of non-working smoke alarms and an additional 5 million homes are at risk by not having smoke alarms. Twenty-five years ago, Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs teamed up to address this problem by providing vital fire safety information to families. They recommend these tips to make a plan for keeping your family and home safe.

Make a Plan
On average, families have less than three minutes from the time the first smoke alarm sounds to escape a fire. Installing smoke alarms on every level of the home and developing a plan of escape can give your family precious minutes to get out and get to safety.

• Draw a floor plan of your home and sketch exit routes out of every room.
• Make sure you have a fire escape ladder long enough to reach the ground from upstairs rooms.
• Assign an outside meeting place, so you can quickly locate each other.

Room by Room

The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most families are asleep.

Bedrooms

• Do not trap electrical cords against walls. Heat can build up, posing a fire hazard.
• Use only lab-approved electric blankets and warmers. Make sure cords are not worn or coming apart. Do not leave electric blankets switched on all night unless they are marked “suitable for all night use.”
• Keep bedding, curtains and other combustible items at least three feet away from space heaters.
• Never smoke in bed.
• Replace mattresses made before the 2007 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard. By law, mattresses made since then are required to be safer.
• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom and outside each sleeping area.

Living Room

• Do not overload electrical outlets.
• Check electrical cords for fraying or signs of damage and don’t run them under carpets.
• Candles are responsible for almost 10,000 fires a year. Use new flameless wax candles which provide the realistic flicker of a scented wax candle without the hazard of open flame.

• Keep battery-operated flashlights and lanterns in easily accessible places in case of power failure.

Kitchen
Cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries in the United States.

• Never use extension cords to plug in cooking appliances; they can overload the circuit.
• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• Keep flammable items away from the cooktop.
• Keep the cooktop, burners and oven clean.
• Have a fire extinguisher installed in or near your kitchen. 

Garage

• Store all combustible materials in clearly marked containers away from regular sources of heat, such as water heaters, space heaters, boilers and furnaces.
• Keep flammable products in a dedicated storage container with a closed door.
• Get rid of stacked boxes, recycling and trash.

Find more fire safety information to keep your family and home safe at www.Energizer.com.

Change Your Clock Change Your Battery^®

2012 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery^® program, a partnership with Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). This program reminds people of the importance of maintaining working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to help prevent fires and keep families safe. It’s part of the Energizer platform—that’s positivenergy_™—which combines a commitment to performance in products and responsibility in partnerships and programs that make a positive impact on the world.   

Other safety prevention measures include:

• Test your smoke alarm.
• Clean the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors each month with a vacuum. 
• The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing smoke alarms every 10 years and having a combination of both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms to keep you alert to all types of home fires.