Jeff Howard's Real Estate blog

Do you realize that a good amount of the fire hazards in your home are in your kitchen? Lots of heat sources are in the kitchen like your oven, stovetop and a toaster oven. Most of the time your kitchen is usually a pretty safe place as long as you keep an eye on things and follow fire safety rules. Knowing how to handle a kitchen fire can mean the difference between a scare and a tragedy.

There are several potential causes of kitchen fires. There are the usual fire hazards such as electrical shorts; however you also have kitchen-specific risks such as splashing oil or something falling onto a heating element.  Your safety measures in the kitchen area should be a bit wider reaching than the rest of your home.

A smoke detector is vital in the kitchen and so is a fire extinguisher that you can access easily. Make sure you choose the right fire extinguisher – opt for an ABC fire extinguisher if you can. These can be used on Class A (trash/wood/paper), Class B (oil and liquids) and Class C (electrical equipment) fires.  These can be found at Home Depot, Lowes or another hardware store.

Set aside an area in the kitchen where you can put oven mitts, cookbooks and similar materials that are far enough away from the stovetop to prevent any of them from falling onto a hot surface. Inspect kitchen appliances regularly for damaged cords or other fire hazards and replace anything that could present a danger.

If a fire breaks out in your oven, your first instinct is likely to open the oven and try to put the fire out. That’s one of the worst things that you can do, though; opening the oven provides much-needed air to the fire and can make it significantly worse. Instead, turn off the oven and leave the door closed. This will limit the availability of oxygen, causing the fire to die down and eventually go out on its own. Keep an eye on the fire, though, if it doesn’t start dying out or seems to be getting stronger, you should call the fire department to deal with it.

Stovetop fires come in several forms such as if something falls onto a hot burner that can cause a fire. If oil or other flammable liquids get too hot or splash out of a pan that can also cause a fire. Even letting a pan boil dry can cause a fire. Fortunately, the majority of stovetop fires are preventable by keeping an eye on the stove whenever there’s at least one hot burner.

If a fire breaks out on the stovetop, there are a few things that you can do. If the fire is very small fire such as a grease fire in a pan, simply putting a metal lid on the pan and that may be enough to put the fire out. Slightly larger fires can be doused using baking soda, but do NOT use flour… though you may have heard that flour is okay to use, flour is finely ground dried plant material and is actually very flammable. Your fire extinguisher is a great option, as is calling the fire department before things get too far out of control.

The main points to remember regarding fire safety is to ensure that your smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment stay in good working order, in case you need them.  It’s recommended to change the batteries in the smoke detectors in your home every six months, and replace smoke detectors every 10 years (I just replaced all of mine).

Are you ready to buy or sell a home? Do you have a need for commercial / industrial / retail space? We can help you with that… just call us at 702 SELL NOW or click on this link to my website http://www.702SellNow.com

Choose to have an amazing day….Jeff

ADU is short for Accessory Dwelling Unit – you might know them as a granny-flat or grown child’s apartment and they might just be your next edited home. They are dwellings–either attached or detached from the main house and they exist on the same lot as the main house. Many ADUs are built above the garage. In Las Vegas you usually see them as a casita or a part of the main home away from the main part of the home for privacy issues.

ADUs have numerous benefits such as creating a secondary rental home, increasing the occupancy on a given plot of land, creating a more communal living, while providing autonomy and privacy for both homes.

People who may have once needed a large home filled with lot of kids and are now empty nesters can move into the ADU and rent out the main home.

ADUs are not lean-to’s – they are real homes that require building permits and some investment. A great resource is accessorydwellings.org, which goes into the ins-and-outs of ADU construction, financing, zoning for every state and other issues.

For those looking to install an ADU on their property, but who don’t want the headache of designing a custom home, there are many prefabricated options like from developers like Blu Homes.  Most of these ADU homes come with many features you would have in the main homes and you can be creative with how you design the rooms to get the most of the space.

The wonderful things about ADUs are that they provide a way of optimizing the traditional American home, when the lot size is considerably larger than its home. We realize many people who want to live an edited life live in traditional American homes; moreover they neither want to move into a micro apartment in the city or a tiny house in the country. The ADU provides a great way of working with existing resources, while providing extra income, increasing the efficiency of a property and creating a more community-oriented lifestyle.

Do you have experiences living in or building an ADU? Tell us about it.

Are you ready to buy or sell a home? Do you have a need for commercial / industrial / retail space? We can help you with that… just call us at 702 SELL NOW or click on this link to my website http://www.702SellNow.com

Choose to have an amazing day….Jeff

 

Don’t you just hate it when something like chili or pasta with sauce explodes all over your microwave –yuck.  The following is some advice for cleaning household appliances.

Some people love to clean, however for the rest of us it takes a lot of effort and probably some knowledge that we’re currently lacking.  It’s not such a big deal to clean a microwave, but for some reason it feels like a major project. Do not despair – I have the remedy for cleaning basically everything useful in your kitchen.

Microwave

Pre-prep Work: Put a coffee mug or small bowl full of water and slices of lemon in the center and run the microwave on high for about three minutes, or until the liquid is turning to steam. This will help soften food splatter and the lemon smells nice.  If you don’t like lemon you can use other citrus fruits or just use a drop of dish washing liquid.

Break It Down: Take out the turntable and anything else that will come loose. Toss these parts in the dishwasher and run it.  These parts can be mixed with other dishes you have to run through the dishwasher. Wipe down the walls of the microwave with a sponge, cloth or several paper towels, plus your favorite dish soap and water or all purpose cleaner. There’s not really a wrong way to clean a microwave. Wipe the outside while you’re at it, especially the buttons.

Garbage Disposal

Pre-prep Work: Unless it is clogged, there’s not much in the way of prep work to do. Flick the switch, run some cold water to make sure there’s not any food left in the device.

Break It Down: Some garbage disposals, like Insinkerators, have removable baffles (the black part that’s just inside the drain). If yours is removable, take it out. If not, then move along.  Cleaning a garbage disposal is really easy. Just clean your removable baffle, if present, and toss some sliced citrus fruit inside (if you throw a whole lime, or even half of one without cutting it up, it may be too much for your disposal) with some ice cubes. Most garbage disposals no longer use blades (don’t stick your hand in to find out unless the breaker is turned off), so the ice cube trick does nothing, but citrus is still a big deal. If it’s really smelly, drop some liquid dish soap inside and run the water until the bubbles stop.

Dishwasher

Pre-prep Work: Running an empty load with a measuring cup full of vinegar or bleach will help start the process off correctly. These help eliminate chronic smells; you’ll be really happy you did. DO NOT USE DISH SOAP. Remove the racks and anything else that comes loose, like cutlery baskets. Take those to the shower and wait for further instructions. First clean any screens that might be protecting food grinders or other moving parts. You can just wipe that out. Next, there’s such a thing as dishwasher cleaner. Your life will be immeasurably easier if you just buy a few of these and use as directed to clean the inside of the dishwasher. Now to the parts you put in the shower.  Spray them down with a removable shower head or take your chances with the regular kind. If they’re very dirty, give them a going over with soapy water and a sponge. Then put the racks etc. back into the dishwasher and you are all set.

Refrigerator

Pre-prep Work: Take your food out and put items into a prepared cooler and turn the ice maker off.

Break It Down: Pull out all the shelves and drawers at once and place them in or near the sink. Start with the empty cavity of the refrigerator and wipe everything down, from the top to the bottom. Warm, soapy water is fine for most icky stuff. The tough grime can be knocked out with all-surface cleaner. Next, do the door interiors. Now wash the shelves and drawers and leave them to dry. Once all of that is complete, put the fridge back together and repeat with the freezer. Change your water filter and turn the ice maker back on when you’re done. Lastly, wipe down the fridge outside.

Freestanding Range (this also applies to cooktops and ovens that exist independently)

Pre-prep Work: Smooth top ranges just need their tops wiped down. Turn the pilot lights off on gas ranges.

Break It Down: Pull knobs, remove grates, and pull coils and catch pans, as applies to your stove.

The Nitty Gritty: If you have a stove with a self-cleaning oven, find your manual and figure out how to use it. Most will lock themselves, heat until they’re super hot and you only have to wipe the racks down and get the ash (there’s never much) out of the bottom. This will take a few hours. Maybe several hours. But it’ll be super clean. For the top, wipe the bit that’s not removable down with soapy water. Grab the coils and set them aside and put the rest in the dishwasher. No reason to work too hard. Glass top stoves sometimes need harder cleaning. There’s a gritty glass top stove cleaner available commercially. Put it all back together like you found it – except much cleaner.

If you want to skip all of this, you could find a great cleaning service in your community, or you can ask your real estate agent for recommendations and choose from the home pros that are sent your way. You’ll never have to worry about cleaning appliances again when you have a cleaning service handy.

 

Are you ready to buy or sell a home? Do you have a need for commercial / industrial / retail space? We can help you with that… just call us at 702 SELL NOW or click on this link to my website http://www.702SellNow.com

Choose to have an amazing day….Jeff