KEEP YOUR SMOKE DETECTOR CLEAN Your Life Depends on It! We all know a smoke detector protects us from a fire in our home. They stay on constant alert, sniffing out any sign of smoke. But are you maintaining yours properly? Many homeowners only touch their smoke alarms when they chirp for new batteries, ignoring them every other day of the year. You should be cleaning (yes, cleaning , not just pressing that button!) every six months. Cleaning your smoke detector is essential to your safety. Here’s a step-by-step guide on doing it correctly. Cleaning your smoke detector is important. Your house is filled with pollutants, even if you clean it regularly. Things like dust, pollen, pet dander, cooking vapors, and smoke linger in your house even if you can’t see them. These tiny fibers and particles love to find small spaces to settle into, like your smoke alarm. As these tiny particles build up, they cover the smoke-sniffing sensors in the detector and insulate it from the outside. This is a problem when a fire breaks out because it will take longer for the smoke to make its way to that sensor through the gunk. The more time the smoke takes to filter through the buildup, the longer your family is in danger. There are two critical parts to cleaning your smoke detector; each is equally vital to keeping your family safe. Vacuum the inside of the unit. Take the outer face of your smoke detector off, and use the soft brush attachment of your vacuum to gently dislodge and remove the pollutants inside the device. If you don’t have a brush attachment, use any soft cleaning brush to break up that gunk before vacuuming it away. Wipe the outside vents. In a bowl, mix a bit of water and mild detergent (we recommend Dawn dish soap or equivalent) and saturate a paper towel or microfiber cloth in the mixture. Use this to wipe the outside of your smoke detector, particularly the vent openings. These will likely become clogged with dust and dander, so focus your scrubbing efforts there to ensure air can pass through. We want you to always be safe in the case of an emergency. Add these two steps to your cleaning routine to protect your home and family from fire.
A CAR CRASH MYTH, BUSTED
What to Do If You’re Injured By Family Imagine that your sister and two nieces are traveling home from a football game. Your sister is behind the wheel while her daughters relax in the back seat, trading jokes and talking about the game they just watched. It’s a long way home down a winding road, and your sister’s eyes slowly start to droop. Before she knows what’s happening, her car swerves off the road and smashes headlong into a tree. Fortunately, everyone survives the crash, but one of your nieces breaks her arm in the collision. That leads us to this common question: Does she have an insurance claim against her mother? Many people believe the answer is “no” because the two women are in the same family. But that’s not how insurance works! In reality, the daughter can and should make a claim against her mom to ensure the insurance company pays for the injuries. This is true for any car wreck involving relatives and friends. If a passenger is injured in a car crash where the driver was at fault (like the one we just described), they should always file an insurance claim and seek compensation. It doesn’t matter if the driver is a stranger, a friend, or a roommate. It’s the same for a mother, cousin, husband, or wife. Regardless of the relationship between the driver and the passenger, the insurance company is on the hook for injuries to any passengers. If you’ve been injured in a wreck by a family member (or if you know someone who has been), we strongly recommend seeking the advice of an attorney. Don’t fall for this old car wreck myth! You can call our firm at 210-756-5399 or pass along our number to a friend or family member who needs help. We’ll dig into their case and start the process of securing their compensation.
– Michael Packard
2 PACKARDFIRM.COM
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