Homeowner’s Academy
This is your guide to interesting facts, tips and general homeowner information. We hope you find the information useful – and feel free to share with friends!

6 Halloween Safety Tips

Spring cleaning often comes with a fresh coat of paint. Painting can be a great way to change the feel of a room or give your home some great curb appeal. Painting also plays a role in home repair by protecting the wood of your home against the elements, essential here in Florida.

If you decide to try your hand at painting this spring, People’s Trust has some tips that can keep the experience enjoyable and safe for everyone in your family.

Try Some Eco-friendly Paint

Spring conjures up the sniffles for many people in the great outdoors, but paint may do the same thing inside of your home. Household paints have previously contained up to 300 toxic chemicals, including the hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that release particles into the air for years after you paint.

Try a low-VOC paint, which tends to be water-based, for any home interior painting. These have taken off in recent years and come in every shade and finish imaginable. Some brands also create no-VOC paints by replacing chemicals with more natural ingredients. These no-VOC paints are often pet-safe, but always check the label and never leave your pet unattended in a room where paint cans are open.

Home Repair Supervision

If you have children, never let them be in a room with open paint cans by themselves. If children are under the age of 10, they should never be in a room with any open painting materials. Even eco-friendly paints are extremely dangerous if ingested. If you believe your child has ingested any paint, immediately call poison control at 1-800-222-1222.

Try Cloth Catchers for Indoor and Outdoor Painting

You can pick up plastic sheets to protect your floors and lawn, but these often move and tear as you walk around painting. Turn to cloth or canvas drop cloths that will stay in place easier and can be weighed down with objects without the risk of tearing.

For painting the outside of your home, try a tarp with tie-holes. These can be staked into the ground to provide a steadier surface for a ladder.

Ventilate: Make Room to Breathe

If you’re painting inside, open the doors and windows. If your room has a fan, turn it on. You want proper ventilation for any space you’re painting to help air out the room and not breathe in paint fumes. If you can’t ventilate where you’re working, get a respirator and only paint in short stints.

Ventilation is essential to most common home repair improvements.

Stick to the Shade

If painting outside, you know that you need to take a break in the shade, but what about your materials? Paint, paint thinner and lacquer all need to stay in the shade as much as possible when painting outdoors.

Not only can heat and sun alter some of these items when they’re sitting in the can, but heat can also be a big problem for these flammable items. The city of Las Vegas actually warns its citizens to be careful when painting their homes or canvases outside because paint thinner has been ignited by the sun and started home fires.

Clean Up after Home Repairs

When you finish painting for the day, clean up the entire space. This will prevent spills and any accidental exposure.

Latex paints can typically be cleaned from surfaces and your skin with soap and water. Oil-based paints will have specific cleaning instructions located on the paint can itself. Take a look at your can before you start painting and write down what it says, because paint often spills on the outside of the can during the painting process.

Gasoline was once used to clean paint off of brushes, but this should never be used. Gasoline is extremely dangerous and should never be used as a cleaner for any object.

It’s always a smart practice to clean up and watch your space clearly when doing any home repair project.

by PTI Marketing | Oct 17, 2014

Filled with creative costumes, endless bags of candy and fun frights, Halloween is a holiday many of us look forward to every year. However, without taking precautions, Halloween can pose some scary safety hazards.

We’ve made a list of the top safety tips to keep your kids, and your home hazard-free this Halloween.

1. Light up the night

While lit candles or luminaries may add a ghostly glow to your “haunted house,” they also pose a serious fire hazard. Prevent the risk of trick-or-treaters tripping over lit candles and potentially starting a fire by opting for LED lights over real candles in your Halloween luminary bags or carved pumpkins. Make sure the lights are grounded and rated “water-resistant/UL approved for outdoor use”.

2. Clean up your yard

Sugar-fueled trick-or-treaters often race from house to house, cutting through front yards. Eliminate hazards from your yard to keep kids safe — rake leaves, remove dead branches, trim hedges and fill holes. Also store bikes, potted plants, gardening tools and hoses out of the yard and at a safe distance from any walkways.

3. Clear a path

Clear a path from your driveway to the front door to reduce the risk of trips and falls. Repair loose porch railings and uneven walkway stones that pose a safety threat to young trick-or-treaters.

4. Confine pets

Prevent Halloween mishaps by keeping pets confined safely in another room in the house, away from the constant excitement of young children ringing the doorbell. Scared cats can dart out the front door, knocking over carved pumpkins and candles. Dogs may mistake trick-or-treaters for intruders and accidentally attack a young child.

5. Leave enough space

When putting out Halloween decorations for display, make sure to leave enough room for people to walk up to your door without bumping into them.

6. Trick-or-treat safely

Have trick-or-treaters of your own? Remind them to walk, not run, between houses and stick to well-lit driveways and sidewalks.

People’s Trust Insurance wishes everyone a safe and spooktacular Halloween!