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Buying Guide for Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Having smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors can literally save your life. Every home should have them and the good thing is they are pretty affordable. Basic model smoke detectors run about $15 while carbon monoxide detectors run around $35.

Keep in mind, a lot of the new models have more features than the older, more basic ones. If you wanted, you could even get smart detectors which will be able to interact with other smart detectors in your house. This helps ensure that your entire house will stay safe.

Regardless of what type of detector you have, they all will have some sort of alarm to let you know there’s smoke or carbon monoxide. This buying guide will help you find the best detector for you and your home!

Why Your Home Needs Them

Every home should have multiple smoke detectors and homes that have anything that burns fuel, such as a furnace, should have carbon monoxide detectors. Keep in mind, if you have an attached garage or other structure, you’ll want to install a carbon monoxide detector if you run something like a generator or other fuel-powered device.

When deciding where to place smoke detectors, you want to make sure that you have one in each room plus one on each level. Make sure these detectors detect not only flames but also fires that are smoldering. For placing carbon monoxide testers, make sure there is one on each floor and one by the garage.

One thing to be aware of before going out and buying a detector, is that some areas have regulations on how many and what kind you need to have. In addition, some insurance companies offer discounts if your home has smoke detectors.

Basics of Smoke Detectors

Keep in mind that there are different kinds of fires and you want to make sure the smoke detector you buy can detect all of these. Listed below are the different types of detectors you can get, or you can read more from smoke detector reviews.

Ionization

These are the best for being able to detect small particles that are usually a result from fires that are fast with lots of flames. A few things they aren’t great for are: detecting smoke and fires that are smoldering. These are known for going of from things like burnt food and steam so it’s best not to put it by or in the kitchen.

Photoelectric

These are good for detecting fires that are smokey and smoldering but not so great at detecting ones that are fast with lots of flames. These ones don’t often go off from burnt food or steam so they are good to put in and around kitchens.

Dual Sensor

These combine the two types mentioned above so you only have to buy and install one smoke detector. Keep in mind, you’ll still need to buy and install a carbon monoxide detector since these are only used for smoke and fires.

Combination Detectors

As of right now, there aren’t any detectors on the market that can detect carbon monoxide and both types of fires. The ones that detect both fire types don’t detect carbon monoxide and the ones that are carbon monoxide and smoke detectors combined don’t detect both kinds of fires.

In the future there might be one put on the market that does all but, as of right now, you’ll just have to get both.

Feature Consideration

When purchasing detectors, there are a few features you want to look for. Those are listed next.

  • Source of power: There are wireless and plug in models. If it’s a plug in model, make sure you can plug it directly into the outlet.
  • Battery backup: If it’s a plug in type, you want to make sure batteries can kick in if something happens that makes you lose power.
  • Smart detectors: Some of these make it possible to connect them all and all of them will go off if one is triggered. These help increase overall safety.
  • Digital carbon monoxide display: It will display carbon monoxide levels in parts per million even if it’s lower than the trigger amount. Certified detectors need to go off at no less than 70 ppm. Keep in mind, levels at 30 ppm can still do some damage to certain people.
  • Hush button: these let you quite the detector if it gets annoying or keeps going off for no reason.
  • Strobe light alarm: these strobe a light when it goes off and it’s great for people who have hearing disabilities.
  • Voice alarms: These will have a voice that go off loudly when it’s triggered. It helps with people who are deep sleepers or might not realize the alarm is going off.
  • Safety lights: these are lights that can help you navigate out of the house and could save your life.
  • Security systems: some security systems have detectors built right in. These are great if you want everything on one module.

Maintenance

Both types of detectors will only work correctly if the installation was done right and if the batteries are replaced every single year!

What To Know About Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Make sure you install these detectors outside every room where someone sleeps and on each level. If it plugs in, make sure it goes right in an outlet and not an extension cord. If it has a display, make sure it’s installed at eye level so you can see. There are a few places you shouldn’t install one of these detectors and those are: within 5 feet of any appliance, outside, in direct sunlight, garage, anywhere that’s dirty, dusty, or greasy, within 20 feet of anything that uses fuel, humid areas, anywhere where it’s less than 40 degrees or more than 100 degrees, or any type of fans or vents.

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Top Diet Changes to Make

One of the biggest changes that you will need to make in your diet is to make sure that you are eating more vegetables. This means that you are going to need to eat at least five servings of vegetables on a regular basis no matter what is going on in your life. The two best things about the vegetables is that they are going to be low in calories and high in fiber. Therefore, you are going to be able to fill a lot fuller for a longer period of time.

You don’t have to worry about eating too much food. The vegetables are also going to be loaded with minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins. Some of these vitamins and minerals might include Vitamin A, B, C, potassium, and folic acid. By replacing all of your meals with some type of vegetable, you are going to be ingesting fewer calories and still be able to get the feeling of being full.

Body Mass Index

The vegetables are going to help a person to have a lower body mass index. This is because even though you are going to be eating the same amount of calories, the calories are going to come from the vegetables instead of the bad foods that we were previously eating. This is one of the best ways that a person is going to be able to lose weight and slim down your waist. A person who eats a lot of vegetables is going to have a slimmer waist, less inflammation, and a lower BMI.

Protection

When a person has a lot of vegetables inside of their diet, they are going to be protected from getting any of the chronic diseases that can be very common. This means that they are going to have a healthier gut. All of these things are going to help to make sure that a person has a strong immune system. With a healthier immune system, a person is also going to be able to have healthier skin that is going to look like it is glowing. Therefore, the person is going to feel a lot more attractive in their skin. It can reduce the risk of a person having heart disease, stroke, or a heart attack. There are also some cancers that can be prevented by eating the vegetables on a regular basis. A person has a less chance of being obese if they eat a lot of vegetables.

 

Fiber

The fiber inside of the vegetables is one of the main reasons why you are going to feel so full after you have ate. But some people think that each gram of fiber that a person eats is going to cancel out at least 7 of the calories that have been recently consumed. Also a diet that is rich in fiber has been linked to being able to help a person to regulate their blood sugar and lessen the amount of belly fat that they have. This means that they have a less chance of having type 2 diabetes.

Lower blood pressure

Eating the vegetables on a regular basis can help to lower a person’s blood pressure because of all of the vitamins and minerals that are inside of the vegetables. This means that it can help to reduce the chances of a person developing a kidney stone. The person is also not going to have a lot of bone loss when they have a lot of vegetables in their diet.

These are just some of the reasons that you are going to want to add vegetables in your diet.

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4 Kitchen Cleaning Methods

Like most of us, I clean the kitchen, which is a monumental undertaking. Soap and water on a sponge can be used for the stovetop along with stovetop cleaner, and you can also use this on counters without making a mess. I clean my kitchen at least every weekend. Cleaning the kitchen is necessary to do at least once a week anyhow.

Cleaning the blender

I put the blender in the dishwasher and then I work on using a knife or fork to remove any flour stuck inside, leftover for making dough. Adding water into the blender and 1 teaspoon of dish washing liquid, then letting it work on the blender when the blender is turned on and pulsing it 10 times is something I hadn’t thought of. Then the mixture is disposed of in the sink.

Clogged drains

I use Drano on the clogged drains. Baking soda and vinegar is one natural solution to this problem. There is no need for Drano at that point. Natural solutions such as baking soda and vinegar work well on clogged drains because cleaning begins with one-cup baking soda poured into the drain, and then 1 cup of vinegar. You finish up by rinsing the drain with hot water.

Cleaning a Stove Hood Filter

This is something I didn’t even know to clean. I have a microwave above my stove. Stove hood filters need to be cleaned every six months and I haven’t cleaned mine yet. I don’t think I know how to remove it on top of that. You clean the filter by putting it in a casserole dish and using liquid soap that you let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes, using a scrub brush to remove grease or food particles. Then you rinse yorj filter with warm water.

How to Clean a Toaster

I don’t use my toaster but some of you do. Toasters can get pretty sticky with dirt. It is not just the outside of the toaster you have to clean. Toasters collect crumbs and burnt bread, which can be a fire hazard. Cleaning this mess however is easy, because you have to clean your toaster once a month. You use white vinegar on the outside and then you clean the crumb drawer by turning the toaster over. A toaster can become a fire hazard if you don’t clean it once a month.