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Healthy Homes In All Living Areas

Healthy Homes: In All Living Areas
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  • To prevent asthma attacks, eliminate sources of mold, dust, and insects, such as cockroaches. If you have a pet, keep it and its bedding clean and keep the pet off the furniture.

  • If you must smoke, avoid smoking in the house, and especially around children.

  • Make sure furnaces, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, space heaters, and gas appliances are vented properly and inspected annually.

  • Use safety gates to block stairways (and other danger areas), safety plugs to cover electrical outlets, and safety latches for drawers and cabinets.

  • Keep children — and the furniture they can climb on — away from windows.

  • Install window guards (on windows that are not fire emergency exits).

  • To prevent falls, keep hallways and stairways well-lit and use non-slip backing for area rugs.

  • Keep cleaning solutions, pesticides, and other potentially dangerous substances in their original, labeled containers, and out of the reach of children.

  • Test homes built before 1978 for lead paint. Call 1-888-LEADLIST for certified inspectors. Ask your doctor or health department if your child should be tested for lead.

  • If you have guns or rifles in your home, store the firearms and ammunition in separate containers and lock them out of the reach of children.

  • Learn First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(CPR).

  • Keep an updated list of emergency telephone numbers, including your local poison control center, physician and hospital emergency room, next to every phone in your home.

  • Have your home tested for radon. If levels are above EPA’s recommended level, call 1-800-557-2366 to find out about ways to reduce the levels.

  • Make sure your family knows what to do during a natural disaster. In an earthquake, drop to the floor and get under something sturdy for cover; during a tornado, take shelter in a basement or an interior room without windows; and during a hurricane stay away from windows. Have handy supplies of food, flashlights, and water.

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