November is Child Safety and Protection Month

10/30/2017 (Permalink)

November is Child Safety and Protection Month

Below are tips for helping to keep children safe at home.

1. Use safety gates. Even before your baby crawls, install safety gates to match your home and protect curious children from harm. Hardware mounted gates should be installed at the top and bottom of the stairs.
2. Prepare for bedtime: Remove all soft, fluffy and loose bedding from the baby’s sleep area. This includes pillows, blankets, quilts, bumper pads, sleep positioners, sheepskins, stuffed toys and other soft products.
3. Be mindful of plants. Choose decorative plants that are nontoxic. Common household plants can often cause serious sickness.
4. Use Doormats. Place a welcome mat outside your home or apartment. Pesticides and other toxins may be carried inside on the soles of people's shoes.
5. Be cautious of choking hazards. Be vigilant about coins, marbles, keys, jewelry, paper clips, water bottle tops, safety pins, removable rubber tips on doorstops, jeweled decorations on children's clothing, crayons, and hard and round foods.
6. Check out your furniture. Use angle braces or anchors to secure large furniture to the wall.
7. Hot water: Set hot water heaters no higher than 120 degrees F. A lower water temperature reduces the chance of scald burns.
8. Fingerprint your children. Contact your local police department to ask if the department provides home fingerprinting kits. Some departments will fingerprint your child for you. If your local police department does neither, you can easily find fingerprint kits for sale online. http://www.yoursafechild.com/
9.  Be Mindful of Windows. Screens are meant to keep bugs out, not prevent children from falling.  Never put furniture or cribs near windows where children can easily fall through.
10. Dishwasher Hazards. Point knives, forks, and other sharp items downward in the utensil basket. Don't fill the dispenser with detergent until you're ready to run the load, and wipe out any that's left over after each cycle. Always replace the cap on the bottle tightly, and store it in a locked cabinet. Keep the dishwasher closed and latched when it's not in use.
11. Stoves and Kitchen Ranges. Make sure free-standing or slide-in ranges are installed with anti-tip brackets that secure the rear legs to the floor. Manufacturers are required to provide these brackets on ranges made after 1991, but you can contact the company for the parts, or order them from an appliance-parts store. Keep the oven door closed when not using the oven, and never allow your child to lean on or climb on the range or oven door. Install child safety locks on knobs. Install stove guards.
12. Fire Safety. For the best protection, install smoke alarms on every level of your home and in every sleeping area. Teach kids never to play with matches and lighters. Make a habit of placing these items up and away from young children. Create and practice a home fire escape plan with two ways out of every room in case of a fire.

Sources: http://www.parentguidenews.com, www.hg.org, http://www.parents.com, and safekids.org

New Equipment at SERVPRO of The Hill Country!

9/23/2013 (Permalink)

We are pleased to announce the addition of the following:

The DryPro 900:  A 900,000 BTU thermal drying system, capable of drying up to 30,000 SF

Two Portable Trailer Mounted Diesel Generators:  each unit is capable of supporting the drying equipment for two residential structures simultaneously.

We at SERVPRO of The Hill Country pride ourselves on the ability to expertly dry both commercial and residential structures.  Remember:  no job is too big or too small for SERVPRO of The Hill Country!