4 Most Forgotten Fire Hazards in Your Home
There are plenty of fire hazards around the home, but have you ever wondered if there are some you don’t know about?
Knowing all the potential fire hazards in your home will help you to take steps to prevent them. According to the US Fire Administration there was an estimated 371,500 home fires in the year 2017 alone, 1,900 of which resulted in a death. Below are 4 of the most overlooked fire hazards in a home and the best steps to take to help prevent them.
Dryer Exhaust Vent
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission there are over 15,000 home fires a year caused by dirty dryer vents. The dryer vent is the exhaust vent/ducting system that exhausts the heat from your dryer to the outside of your home. During the dryer cycle lint from your laundry can sneak past the lint trap and begin to build up in your dryer vent, even if you are good about cleaning off your lint trap every time. In about the span of a year (sometimes less) the lint build up can create a blockage or restrictions in your vent. This blockage blocks the hot air from your dryer from your exhausting properly. Mixing that hot air with a build up of very flammable lint can have your laundry room up in flames in a matter of minutes. To combat this the Fire Department strongly recommends having a dryer vent cleaning done at least once per year.
Dust Bunnies
Yes, you read that right. Dust bunnies are a lot more dangerous than their name makes them out to be. Much like the lint in your dryer vent, dust bunnies are HIGHLY flammable. If dust builds up around electrical outlets, power strips, heaters, the stove and more, it can quickly ignite. The best ways to get rid of the dust bunny build up in your home is by vacuuming and dusting regularly, as well as changing out your homes air filters once a month (use MERV 8 or higher pleated filters). If you are doing all this and still experiencing large amounts of dust, you may benefit from air duct cleaning as well.
Exhaust Fans
These are the fans in your bathrooms and laundry rooms that either automatically go on with the light or have a seperate switch on the wall to turn them on. Their purpose is to exhaust hot humid air and bad odors out of these small rooms. However they are not made to stay on for hours. If left on for long periods of time, the fan motor will begin to overheat. This combined with the dust build up these fans are known to accrue, can quickly spark a fire. To prevent this simply do not run your exhaust fan longer than 20 minutes at a time, and periodically have your exhaust fans cleaned.
Exposed Light Bulbs
Light bulbs don’t only give off light, they also give off heat. So if anything flammable is to come in contact with a bulb, especially for longer periods of time, it can cause that flammable material to ignite. This is most common in overly filled and dusty closets. It is said that 12% of home fires start in the closets. Some ways to help avoid this is replace your current light bulbs with LED or CFL bulbs, as they put out less heat. Also, making sure no flammable material is near the bulb and putting the bulb in an enclosure will help.
Can you think of any other overlooked fire hazards we didn’t list? Let us know in the comments!