The Edinburgh Realty eNewsletter

Six top tips: Winter warmth and safety at home

When winter begins to bite, staying warm and dry gets bumped up the list of life’s priorities. Here are our top tips for keeping safe, while keeping warm.

1. Check your ‘lecky blanket. Be tough. Your electric blanket is your best friend in an Otago winter, but if it’s more than five years old, or looking worn and sad, it’s time to get a new one. If in doubt, have your electrician give it a once-over.

2. Are you sufficiently alarmed? Check that you have smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, living area and hallway. Pop in some earplugs and test them all, replacing any dead batteries as you go.

3. Let the dryer breathe. Before using your dryer, make sure its filter is free of lint. Don’t overload the poor thing, and give it plenty of air space and ventilation to do its job safely.

4. Keep your stovetop looking flash – and avoid a flash fire. Remove spilled fats, grease and the baked-on remains of meals past.

5. Store fire-starters away from fire starters. Keep matches, lighters and other fire-starting tools out of the reach of children and pets.

6. Remember the heater-metre rule. Heater-hogs beware! It’s not only your curtains, clothing and furniture that must be a good metre away from heaters and fireplaces – you and the kids also need to stay at least a metre clear, for good measure. And for good manners.