What Every Homeowner Should Check to Guarantee the Safety of Their Home
Here are the most important features of your home that need to be routinely checked to ensure they are in good working condition to avoid any threats of damaging your home or injuring people.
16/01/2020
Since the beginning of time, the basics for survival have been and still are food, clothes, and shelter. Your house, your shelter, needs to be a safe haven for you and your family. If you can’t feel safe in your home, where else can you feel safe? There’s a lot that goes on in houses and apartments that can make them safe or unsafe. Some aspects of your home, if gone unchecked, can become anything but safe. They can become a hazard, compromising the safety of those living in the house and compromising your property as well.
To avoid any sort of risk that could put you or others in harm’s way, here are the most important features of your home that need to be routinely checked and ensured that they are in good working condition to avoid any threats of damaging your home or injuring people.
Gas Pipes
Most homes rely heavily on natural gas to heat their homes and give them hot tap water. Natural gas is the most cost-effective and efficient way to fuel a boiler or furnace. The piping in the house is the gas supply line and these lines are hooked up to appliances like your stove. Gas piping can have a few problems, which is why they need to have a routine check. These problems could be leaks, rusting, inappropriate materials and support, and improper connections, to mention a few. These issues can cause major concerns if left unattended. Before natural gas runs through the pipes, the process of purging must be done to avoid the combination of air and initial gas which poses as a safety hazard. Traditional purge systems can be restrictive as they are inefficient, costly, and a lot of labor goes into it. Additionally, purge systems must be placed between 10ft to 20ft away from the weld zone, which adds more inconvenience and costs.
Purging is intended to ensure that no initial air reaches the pipe system. This is when water soluble paper and tape can be used instead of traditional purging. Combined, these components can be manually constructed into distinct purge dams. The welding process becomes more efficient as it becomes closer in proximity to the welding zone. The water-soluble paper is safe and biodegradable. It allows for easier and quicker construction and can be customized to fit various pipe schedules and sizes.
Electric Cables and Wiring
We live in a connected world. In fact, there are 6.58 network-connected devices per person around the globe and it’s expected to increase. The wiring in your home needs to be updated to handle more devices and more powerful devices. The older your home, the older the wiring system will be. Over time, cables can get deteriorated or damaged, which can cause an electric shock or fire. The oldest type of wiring system is called knob-and-tube which are individual wires; one black hot wire and one white neutral wire. You can remain with old types of wiring if you must, but there are things to watch out for, such as:
• Missing, cracked, or damaged insulation which
exposes the metal of the wire
• Wiring
surrounding building insulation
•
Exposed splices that need to be soldered.
• Fuses that are more than 15 or 20 amps. Old
wiring usually can’t handle more than that, and
over fusing is extremely dangerous.
Water Pipes
Outdated pipes are usually made of lead or galvanized pipes that are made of iron and have a zinc-coated layer, among a couple of other types. These old pipes can last quite a long time, but they often become corroded long before they actually give out. The older your pipes are, the more chance there is of lead poisoning which is extremely dangerous. When pipes get corroded and the materials used are obsolete, it can easily cause problems in the flow of your water, especially the flow coming from your hot water tap, and will often cause leaks. Many times, repairs just seem to be ongoing, which is why if you can, try to change them. Old pipes not only affect the quantity of water but also affect the quality of your water. The rust will make your drinking water taste off.
The older your home, the more likely you can find some of these issues that need your attention. Sure, old homes come with a charm, but they also come with their own problems. The best way to keep your house a safe haven it’s meant to be is to have regular checkups on gas and water pipes and your wiring system. Don’t hesitate to upgrade what can be upgraded to keep you and your family feeling secure and comfortable.