Sundays Life Among The Blooms No. 20 - House Fires

Good morning, sweet friends! Today on Sundays Life Among The Blooms No. 20 – House Fires. Let’s talk about the top 10 causes.

Hope you have your cup of coffee or tea for some inspiration. Here on Sundays, I talk about random things going on over at White Lilac Farmhouse and things that stop me in my tracks.

Do you know The Top 10 causes of house fires?

My heart has led me to write this post. A tough be important subject to discuss. I want to raise awareness about house fires.

Why?

Recently, we had a little bit of a scare.

what are the top ten causes for house fires?

Cooking- According to the National Fire Protection Association, 40 percent of all house fires are caused by cooking related incidents. Many times someone will leave something cooking unattended on the stove.
Children play with matches or a lighter and cause a fire.
Smoking – People falling asleep with a lit cigarette or cigar.
Heating – People not getting their furnace serviced on a regular basis. The common cause of heating related fires are small space heaters (electrical or fuel-based)
Electrical – A main leading culprits is the over-use of extension cords. An extension cord can only pull a certain number of watts safely. You must be aware of the safe amount you can plug into it.
Candles – How many times have you forgotten to blow out a candle or left the house with one burning? Remember it is an open flame and that we shouldn’t just leave lit candles unattended. A small child or animal could easily knock it over.
At a rehearsal dinner, one of my votive candles shot a tall flame. It was the oddest thing. Thankfully, it was not sitting near something flammable such as draperies.
Fireplace – Common issues with fireplaces can range from unattended fires to improper servicing of the fireplace. Your fireplace should be cleaned, including the chimney. Small animals can make nests in chimneys.
Dryers – Not cleaning dryer and dry vents can cause a dryer related fire. Dryer vents tend to become clogged with highly flammable lint and other matter. Keeping your dryer vent clean protects your house from a potential fire. It increases the efficiency of your dryer. Lint is a highly flammable material.

What happened at my home

Recently, there was a burning smell upstairs. It appeared stronger near the laundry room. I noticed that the laundry room was hot with the dryer on. Plus, it was taking longer for the clothes to dry too.

I pulled the out the dryer. My plan was to do my cleaning of the dryer from any lint. We have been in the home for three years. When I disconnected the tube from the dryer to the wall, it had a large amount of lint.

With my vacuum cleaner, I removed as much lint as possible. There was a bend in my vent. I could not get any more lint out.

the issue

My issue was the lint trap was clogged. You can see from the photo below how bad it was clogged.

Our second dilemma was the location of the dryer vent outside. The dryer vent on the outside of the house was located over top of your concrete staircase for the basement.

The only way we would have access is to flip out the window. It would be an obstacle and we did not want to risk breaking the window.

Back of a house showing the location of a dryer vent.

With these two issues and the fact that our laundry room is not located on an exterior wall, it was time to call in the professionals.

We contacted Certified Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning. They do dryer vents too. Bill the owner of the company was extremely helpful. I explained the situation to him.

According to Bill, “Lint build-up in a dryer vent is a fire hazard and wastes money”. He told me that if your dryer vent is clogged or even partially clogged with lint, it can take twice to four times as long to dry clothes. Bill indicated that the location of my laundry room with the tubes running a distance to the outside should be cleaned every year.

If you are local, I highly recommend them. You can check the company information here. I was able to get an appointment within a couple of days.

If your laundry room is on the second floor and not locate on an exterior wall, you should call a professional. There is the possibility of tubing getting clogged. Some houses have bends and can have 10-30ft of tubes to an outside wall.

recommendation

It was a scary situation at our home. Now I have peace of mind. The dryer vent is cleaned and will not catch my home on fire from a clogged vent.

No matter where your dry vent is located, be sure to clean it each year. It is easy and inexpensive to replace the hose that connects the dryer to the vent opening.

Don’t forget to clean the lint trap in the dryer. I use something similar to clean the lint trap within the dryer.

I hope that this issue of Sundays Life Among The Blooms No. 20 – House Fires raised awareness of the some of the main causes of fires.

Affiliate links are used for your convenience at no additional cost to you. It helps to support my blog so that I can bring you more free tutorials. Thank you! Read my full disclosure here.

Click on the photo below to take you to where to purchase it.

ON THE BLOG

Beautiful Spring Favorite Finds for Decorating Your Home

Spring pillows in beautiful prints of blues and greens.

How To Make A Spring Plate Wreath

Spring Vignette on a Antique Black dresser with a spring plate wreath hung on the wall above.

Homemade Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs Recipe

Homemade chocolate covered peanut butter eggs in a white ironstone dish. Stone color rabbit sits on a vintage crate with flower in a white soup tureen.

WHAT I AM LOVING

Affiliate links are used for your convenience at no additional cost to you. It helps to support my blog so that I can bring you more free tutorials. Thank you! Read my full disclosure here.

Click on any of the photos below to take you to where to purchase them.

Rabbit home decorations, blue and green glass vases.

BEAUTIFUL INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS

Here are some of my favorite inspirations from others this week.

Are you looking for some Easter projects? I got you.

Table scape with moss Rabbit with eggs that have been decoupaged. — Photo Courtesy of Kim, Cottage In The Mitten

Look at these beautiful decoupage eggs! My friend, Kim Cottage In The Mitten has a tutorial to make them. You can read about it here.

Photo Courtesy of Ann, Dabbing & Decorating

I am loving the spring tablescape Ann, Dabbling & Decorating put together. She is using hues of greens and blues for a beautiful spring table. You can read about it here.

Rabbit wreath from grapevine, moss and dried flowers. — Photo Courtesy of Jennifer, Cottage On Bunker Hill

How adorable is this bunny wreath made with a metal form from the dollar store. Jennifer really made it stand out with grapevine, moss, dried flowers and raffia for a bow tie. See her full tutorial here.

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Hope you have a fabulous day, sweet friend!