|
Home
Emergencies 101
Surprise
birthday party? Good. Surprise water in the basement? Very
bad! Be prepared for these common crises at home and on the
road.
After
successfully fixing their leaky toilet, Barb
Glenn and her husband, Larry, turned in for the night. A few
hours later, Barb awakened to the sound of running water and
got up to investigate. As her feet hit the carpet, cold water
squished between her toes. Splashing her way down the hall,
she discovered that the toilet had turned into a mini geyser,
soaking all four of the bedrooms in their San Antonio, Texas,
home.
"The night
the toilet exploded" has become a family joke, but it's taken
nearly two decades for the chuckles to outweigh the chagrin.
Although a quick turn of the toilet shutoff valve stopped
the water, cleaning up the mess took days. "It was awful,"
says Barb. "We thought we were saving money by fixing the
toilet ourselves, but it ended up costing us more than $1,500
for a cleaning service and a real plumber."
Have you
ever put your foot through the floor? Ever made an unplanned
turn into a snowbank? From do-it-yourself horror stories to
winter driving woes, home and auto emergencies happen to the
best of us. Knowing what to do when life throws a curveball
could save you time and money -- and maybe even your life.
Here are some common quandaries and expert advice on what
to do right now if they ever happen to you.
PIPING
DOWN
It's freezing out and you turn on the kitchen faucet to brew
some hot tea, but there's no water.
What
to do now: First, shut off the water line. Not sure where
your main shutoff is? Most are located in the basement, says
veteran home inspector Nick Gromicko, founder of the National
Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Then play sleuth
to find out why the line has frozen. Is the heat off? Was
a window left open in the basement? Has a crack in the foundation
blown blasts of icy air onto a pipe?
Because
water expands as it freezes, frozen pipes can damage plumbing
lines, leading to slow leaks that can cause rot and mold.
Conduct a leak check after water service has been restored.
Gromicko recommends shutting off all sinks and tubs, then
checking to see if the dial on the water meter is still moving.
BREAKING
THE (SNOW) BANK
Slippery road conditions detour you smack-dab into a snowbank,
where your car seems destined to remain until the first spring
thaw.
What
to do now: Try to push snow out of the way of the wheels
by turning the steering wheel from side to side a few times
or digging out with a shovel, advises defensive driving expert
James Solomon of the National Safety Council (NSC). Ease forward,
keeping a light touch on the gas. Don't spin the wheels or
you'll dig yourself in deeper. Next, rock the vehicle, shifting
from forward to reverse and back again. (Check your owner's
manual first; this technique can damage some transmissions.)
If the
car remains stuck, stay inside unless you're in the immediate
vicinity of help; use a cell phone to call for aid. "A vehicle
will be visible if someone is looking for you," Solomon says.
ICE
CARPADES
While exiting the freeway, your car hits a patch of ice --
and suddenly you're sliding off the ramp.
What
to do now: Vehicles don't make graceful ice-skating partners
-- especially on ramps, bridges and overpasses, which tend
to freeze first. "Once on the ice, it's too late to do much,"
says Solomon. Avoid icy skids by matching your speed to the
road conditions and taking precautions on curves and turns
by slowing down in advance.
To bring
a sliding car under control, take the NSC's advice: Remove
your foot from both the accelerator and brake pedals, unless
your vehicle has an antilock braking system (ABS). In that
case, depress the brake pedal as hard as possible until the
vehicle stops moving. (Check your owner's manual to see if
your car has ABS, which is able to pump the brakes faster
than any mere mortal ever could.) Meanwhile, turn the steering
wheel in the direction you want the front wheels to go and
continue steering and countersteering.
EXCESS
GAS
While digging in a row of hedges, you hit a natural gas line.
What
to do now: Whether you feel the shovel strike, see a line
laid bare, hear a hissing sound and/or smell the rotten-egg
scent that's added to odorless natural gas, recognize that
a damaged pipeline could create an explosion hazard. The national
Dig Safely Campaign recommends moving away from the site,
extinguishing any flames (including cigarettes) and immediately
calling your utility company's emergency number or 911.
To avoid
injury, costly delays and expensive repairs, contact your
local One-Call Center (national referral hotline: 1-888-258-0808)
to request that underground utility lines be marked before
you dig. (It's a free service.) Even minor outdoor projects
like setting a mailbox post should wait until you've checked
the locations of underground utilities, some of which might
be buried just inches beneath the soil surface.
WET
FEET
After a heavy rainfall, your night-owl daughter discovers
the basement laundry room is flooded with standing water.
What
to do now: Walking through a wet or flooded basement could
be dangerous because of the risk of electrocution. Alliant
Energy, a Midwest provider of electric and natural gas services,
warns homeowners to stay out of a flooded basement until the
electricity is disconnected. Even though you probably need
power to run sump pumps and wet vacs that could help you get
rid of all that water, Alliant says the risk of electrical
shock is just too great. Instead, it advises calling your
electrical provider or fire department for assistance with
disconnecting the power. Then have a certified electrician
check for damage before getting hooked up again.
FRIGID
FURNACE
Rousing from an all-too-realistic dream about exploring the
North Pole, you're gripped by an icy chill. Your furnace has
gone out in the night.
What
to do now: Call a heating and cooling contractor, says
Gromicko. If your furnace isn't out of fuel, it's probably
broken and in need of professional help. Meanwhile, turn on
all faucets to a slow flow of water so your pipes won't freeze.
OPEN
DOOR POLICY
A local power outage leaves your automatic garage door
stuck closed. That's not usually a cause for alarm, but your
teenager's championship basketball game starts in an hour.
What
to do now: Although an automatic garage door is usually
the largest and heaviest moving object in a home, with its
touch-of-a-button convenience, we often take it for granted
-- until the power goes out. You can still get out of the
garage when there's no electricity by pulling the opener's
emergency-release rope and manually lifting the door. Consult
your owner's manual for details specific to your model.
FLAMING
FEAST
In a busy kitchen filled with relatives preparing their favorite
dishes for the Thanksgiving feast, everyone overlooks the
pan of onions frying on the stove -- and it bursts into flames.
What
to do now: "Cooking fires -- particularly those caused
by unattended cooking -- are the leading cause of home fires
and fire injuries, so it's really important to pay attention,"
says Lorraine Carli, spokesperson for the National Fire Protection
Association. A simple grease fire can escalate quickly, spreading
to surrounding cabinets and other combustible materials and
engulfing the kitchen or the entire house.
If grease
or cooking oil catches fire, immediately slide a lid over
the pan to smother the flame, Carli says. (Be sure to wear
an oven mitt.) Then turn off the heat and slide the pan off
the burner. Keep the pan covered until the contents cool to
prevent the fire from restarting. If the pan overflows and
the contents ignite, get everyone out of the house and call
the fire department once you're all outside. Worth remembering:
Never use water to extinguish a grease or oil fire. Instead,
use a multipurpose fire extinguisher.
|
Special
Offer!