Homemaker Barbi » Safety and Recalls

6 Ways to Safeguard Your Home from UL

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:40:10 +0000

If you’ve ever bought electronic products and seen the UL logo (at left) on the tag or the box, then you had your own personal guardian angel looking out for the safety of your home and you didn’t even know it! The holidays may be over, but parents like you and me are concerned about making our homes a safer place for kids all year long.

Did you know that a large percentage of accidents happen at home? To help change that, UL created a great web site called Safety at Home that provides great information about the home safety movement. Homemaker Barbi has teamed up with UL to bring you these 6 tips for safeguarding for your home year-round.

What is UL?

UL is a century-old organization that specializes in independent product safety certification. What that means in everyday language is that they have been establishing the standards for safety in household products and testing them to make sure they are safe for consumers like us to use since before we were even born! From bedroom lamps to Christmas lights, looking for a UL logo on a product you’re about to buy should give you a feeling of relief that your family’s safety has already been thought of.

6 Ways to Safeguard Your Home Year-Round

1. Install a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm and smoke alarm, at least one for each floor of your house, near sleeping areas.

2. Test your smoke and CO alarms once a month and remember to change the batteries in all alarms when changing your clocks for daylight savings time.

3. Keep medications locked up. Never leave medicine in any place children can access it, such as in your purse, in kitchen drawers, on pantry shelves, or in medicine cabinets. Store all medications together in a cabinet or other container with a child-proof safety lock.

4. Take care of electrical cords. “Never run electrical cords under carpets, rugs or heavy items, or bunch them up behind a hot appliance or radiator,” UL says. Using electrical cords in this way could cause them to overheat, which is a fire hazard.

5. Be cautious of space heaters. UL advises us to keep blankets, curtains, even wallpaper (because of the glue), which are all flammable materials, at least 3 feet away from heat sources such as space heaters to lessen the risk of fire.

6. Know what to do in an electrical storm. Instead of panicking during an electrical storm, know which items in your home to avoid: plumbing, wires and cables, metal doors and window frames, all electrical appliances, and even corded phones.

Bonus Tip: Design and practice a family fire escape route with your kids today. Being prepared in case you ever have to use your fire escape plan is always a good thing.

To learn more about the safety movement which is sweeping the nation, visit Safety at Home today.

Images used with permission by Underwriters Laboratories.

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 7/9/08

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:44:31 +0000

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 7/9/08

Below are the recent product recalls from the FDA and CPSC. Click the links to read the details of each recall and get instructions on what to do if you own one of these products. Subscribe to Homemaker Barbi’s free RSS feed or get email updates to stay informed of the latest safety information.

Foods:

Giant Food Recalls Giant Brand Garlic Bread and Garlic Spread
Recall of Astro Pops and Missile Pops 3.5 oz Cherry Pineapple Frozen Novelty Pops in Arizona, Nevada and California due to Safety Hazard
Recall of Nestle Pure Life Purified Water

Cribs:

Stanley Furniture Recalls Cribs Due to Entrapment Hazard
Jardine Cribs Sold by Babies”R”Us Recalled Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazard

Kids’ Items:

Children’s Jewelry Recalled by Bead Bazaar USA Due to Risk of Lead Exposure
Bayside Furnishings Recalls Youth Bed Toy Chests Sold at Costco After the Death of a 22-Month-Old Child
Infant Garments Recalled by Rashti & Rashti Due to Choking Hazard
Nordstrom Recalls Girls’ Sandals Due to Choking Hazard

Toys:

Westminster Inc. Recalls Remote-Controlled Helicopter Toys Due to Risk of Fire
Redcat Racing Recalls Remote Controlled Toy Vehicles Due to Remote Control Defect
Miracle Recreation Recalls Tire Swings Due to Fall Hazard

Fireworks:

Black Cat Fireworks Recalls Fireworks Due to Injury Hazard
Fireworks Over America Recalls Fireworks Due to Shock Hazard

Other:

RadioShack Recalls Power Supplies Due to Electrocution and Fire Hazards
Dollar Tree Recalls Glue Guns Due to Fire Hazard
Hewlett-Packard Co. Recalls Fax Machines Due to Fire Hazard
ATVs Recalled By Kawasaki Due to Loss of Speed Control

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 6/5/08

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:07:00 +0000

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 6/5/08

This week’s round of CPSC product recalls is recapped below. Click the links to read the details of each recall and get instructions on what to do if you own one of these products. Don’t miss out on important recalls: subscribe to our RSS feed or get email updates to stay informed of the latest safety information.

QuinCrafts Children’s Jewelry Recalled Due to Risk of Lead Exposure

Remote-Controlled Helicopter Toys Sold Exclusively in Walgreens Recalled Due to Fire and Burn Hazards by TWIE

Outdoor Benches (Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores Recall) Due to Fall Hazard

Miele Recalls Gas Dryers Due to Risk of Gas Leak or Fire

Kids Station Toys Recalls Little Tikes Toy Cell Phones Due to Choking Hazard

Batting Helmets Recalled by Rawlings Sporting Goods Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

Safety Recall: Listerine Agent Cool Blue Rinse 5/25/08

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Mon, 26 May 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Safety Recall: Listerine Agent Cool Blue Rinse

The childrens’ product Listerine Agent Cool Blue Plaque-Detecting Rinse has been recalled. This recall was issued on April 11 of last year! I didn’t receive this recall notification, and still had a bottle of the affected product in the bathroom. The danger comes from a faulty preservative that doesn’t guard against microorganisms.

Stop using the product immediately and properly dispose. For a REFUND, print the refund form here or call McNeill’s customer service at 1-888-222-0249. You don’t have to mail in the product; just peel the label off the back of the bottle and mail it in with your completed refund form.

The Consumer Statement at the AgentCoolBlue site has all the specifics of the recall. Read the press release here.

Product Safety Recalls

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:07:00 +0000

We have a large round of dangerous products being recalled today. Take these away from your children (or yourselves) immediately! Fresh from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following products have been recalled:

* Floppy Friends Horse Toys due to lead paint violation. Return it to the store for a full refund. Read the full recall from CPSC here.

*Disney Store recalls Tinker Bell Wands due to lead paint violation. Return it to the store for a full refund. Read the full recall from CPSC here.

* Disney Store recalls Pirates of the Caribbean Sleeping Bags. The surface paint on the sleeping bag’s zipper pull contains excessive levels of lead. Return them to any Disney Store for a full refund. Read the full recall from CPSC here.

* Children’s Rain Ponchos with drawstrings recalled by Daiso due to strangulation hazard. Consumers should immediately remove the drawstrings to eliminate the hazard. Read the full recall from CPSC here* Maran Inc. Children’s Hooded Jackets with Drawstrings due to strangulation hazard from TJ Maxx. Consumers should immediately remove the drawstrings to eliminate the hazard, or return the garments to the place where purchased or to Maran to receive a refund. Read the full recall from CPSC here.

* Master Toys & Novelties Little Rider Toys due to lead paint. Consumers should immediately take these recalled toys away from children and return it to the store where purchased for a full refund. Read the full recall from CPSC here.

*Char-Broil Recalls Two-Burner Gas Grills from Mills Fleet Farm Stores. “The main burner does not fit correctly and does not connect properly to the gas valve which could result in a propane leak. This poses fire and burn hazards to consumers. Consumers should stop using the grill immediately and contact Char-Broil for a free replacement burner and installation instructions.” Read the full recall from CPSC here.

* Sure Grip Paint Brushes by Early Childhood Resources due to lead paint. Consumers should contact Early Childhood resources to receive a free replacement product. Read the full recall from CPSC here.

Product Recalls 5/8/08

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:57:00 +0000

Fresh from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following products have been recalled:

1. Baby Bottle and Food Warmers by Munchkin due to fire hazard. Click here to read full recall info.

2. Playworld Systems Swing Sets due to fall hazard. Click here to read full recall info.

Recalled: Kids’ Storage Bins from Lowe’s

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:07:00 +0000

These cute storage bins sold at Lowe’s have been recalled due to violation of lead paint standard. These containers should be returned to Lowe’s for a full refund.

Read the full recall from CPSC.

Safety Alert: Beware the Stick-On Earring

Homemaker Barbi - Danelle Ice — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:06:00 +0000

I recently read in a magazine about one woman’s shocking child safety experience with kids’ stick-on earrings. Instead of piercing her toddler daughter’s ears, she opted for the little stick-on earrings with adhesive backs. What she didn’t think of was that the earring could come unstuck from the earlobe and make its way into the ear canal. In this case her daughter tried to put them on by herself and put it into her ear by mistake. The earring got stuck far enough in her daughter’s ear that she couldn’t remove it, and had to take her in. Their doctor couldn’t remove the earring either, and the poor little girl required minor surgery to get it out.

I had never even thought of this occurring, but it is a very scary idea. How can you keep this from happening, and still let your little one use stick-on earrings? Never let her put them on alone. Tell her when she wants to take them off, she has to ask for help. Most importantly, never let your daughter go to sleep wearing stick-on earrings. They can come off as she turns her head in the night and get into the ear canal.

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.

Homemaker Barbi » Safety and Recalls

6 Ways to Safeguard Your Home from UL

What is UL?

6 Ways to Safeguard Your Home Year-Round

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 7/9/08

Related Articles:

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 6/5/08

Safety Alert: Product Recalls 6/5/08

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Safety Recall: Listerine Agent Cool Blue Rinse 5/25/08

Related Articles:

Product Safety Recalls

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Product Recalls 5/8/08

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Recalled: Kids’ Storage Bins from Lowe’s

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Safety Alert: Beware the Stick-On Earring

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