Pool Safety Tips

on April 26, 2011 in Safety

Pool safety measures for a safer summer

As a Dallas/Fort Worth home inspector, I often inspect swimming pools for my clients.  The heat gets so oppressive during the Texas summers, pools sometime seem more of a necessity than an indulgence for some people.  While making sure that the pool and the pool equipment are in good working order is the top priority, I also emphasize pool safety, especially for clients who have small children.

One way to do this is to integrate Safer 3, an initiative of the Swim for Life Foundation, which calls for “Safer Water, Safer Kids and Safer Response.”

Parents try to watch their children, but it’s impossible to watch them every second of every day.  People get distracted, and kids are drawn to water like a magnet.

Water safety experts say that safer water is achieved by having layers of protection in place between your home and pool, to buy  time after a momentary distraction.  Studies have proven that isolation fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates saves lives. Isolation fencing separates the pool from the home, either surrounding the pool or enclosing all doors leading from the home, to prevent children who get out the door from traveling beyond the patio. For above-ground pools, a smaller fence and gate surrounding the steps or ladder can prevent toddler access.

Not only is a drowning a terrible tragedy, it can also be a liability issue when the victim is a visitor.

Pool barrier codes require pool gates to be self-closing and self-latching, and to open away from the pool. Codes typically require that the release be 54 or 60 inches above the ground. Consult your building department for local regulations.

The dangers of suction drain entrapment are also significant, and anti-entrapment drain covers should be in place. Pool professionals should be consulted to ensure the correct suction entrapment prevention devices are used.

It is also strongly recommended that a “water watcher” be designated for safety when children are in the pool, to maintain eye-to-eye contact at all times.

For more information, visit www.ndpa.org (National Drowning Prevention Alliance). For a free Pool Safety Kit call (800) 716-0888, ext. 292.

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Save Time and Money With Proactive Home Maintenance

on April 4, 2011 in Home Maintenance


If you think home maintenance means fixing something only when it’s broken, then you could be in for some costly surprises. Routine maintenance can help identify and address home-related issues early and prevent them from becoming bigger problems later.

Spring and summer are ideal times to perform critical home-related projects. The improved weather allows better access to areas of the home and yard that may have been inaccessible during winter, and the additional daylight allows more time for outdoor work than other times of the year.

“Cars get routine maintenance from a mechanic and people get regular checkups from a doctor, but unfortunately our homes often get neglected until it’s too late,” says Rhonda Hills of Kudzu.com, an online resource for homeowners looking for expert home advice and local service providers. “Homes need constant attention, and in most cases regular maintenance can help save thousands of dollars by allowing owners to catch problems early or prevent them altogether.”

The home experts at Kudzu.com recommend completing these home projects this spring and summer. You and your home will be thankful you did.

* Get your air conditioner serviced – Properly maintained heating and air conditioning systems run more efficiently and have a longer life expectancy. During a maintenance visit, your HVAC technician should check your system’s refrigerant levels, clean the condenser coil, replace dirty filters and calibrate your thermostat among other things. The goal is to ensure your air conditioning system is operating properly and is in tip-top-shape for the warmer weather ahead.

* Inspect the roof – Wind, rain, hail and other weather events can damage the roof and leave it susceptible to leaks. When conducting a visual inspection, try to stay off the roof. Instead, start from the ground and look for missing or damaged shingles, discolored spots or areas of the roof that sag.

* Check toilets for leaks – The average home loses 10,000 gallons of water per year to leaks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s enough water to fill a swimming pool. To ensure your home is leak free, start by checking your toilet. Just drop food coloring in the toilet’s tank. If after 30 minutes the water in the bowl starts to change colors, then there is a leak. This can usually be corrected by replacing the toilet’s flapper.

* Have your home pressure washed – Pressure washing your home can keep it looking brand new and can also extend the life of your siding or other building materials. Dirt, mold and mildew will gradually accumulate on your home, deck and other surfaces, and you may not even notice it. In some cases, these contaminants can deteriorate building materials and can create slick, unsafe walking surfaces.

* Get your gutters cleaned – Gutters help capture rain that hits your home and direct it as far from the structure as possible. Clogged gutters cannot properly redirect water and can lead to water pooling against your home’s foundation and leaking into your crawlspace or basement.

* Rake and aerate your lawn – Raking a winter’s worth of leaves will allow sunlight and nutrients to reach your sod, and aerating the lawn will prevent soil compaction, improve drainage and promote better root development.

* Have your trees trimmed – Pruning is typically done to remove dead or diseased limbs, eliminate overcrowding or to prevent potential hazards. In addition to creating a healthier tree, pruning can also allow better light penetration which can be a benefit to plants below.

* Look for termites – Termites are wood-destroying pests that can cause thousands of dollars in damage to your home. The most obvious sign of a termite infestation is a termite swarm, which is when winged termites take to the skies to find a mate. These winged termites are easily confused with winged ants, so if you spot a swarm, gather some of the winged specimens and immediately contact a professional pest control company so they can inspect.

Visit Kudzu.com for more home improvement advice or to find a highly rated professional in your area that can help you get these projects done. – (ARA)

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Why Am I Doing This?? (I mean…”Welcome to my blog!”)

on March 30, 2011 in General

Randy Hooser, Dallas home inspector

This is me with my better half

(crickets chirping…)  Hello?  Is this thing on?  (taps fake microphone) Okay, then…first blog post here.  How’s it going out there?  Good?  Good.  Alright, alright…enough stalling.  In case you don’t know, my name is Randy Hooser, and I am a home inspector in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.  (If you’re interested in more background and info, check out my About Me page.)

Soooo…I’ve been reluctant to dip my toe into this whole “blogging” thing.  (Why did I put that in quotes??)  Do I have enough to say?  Can I do it consistently?  Do I want to do it consistently?  Do I want random people to know what I’m thinking?  Do I want un-random people to know what I’m thinking?  Is there such a thing as an “unrandom” person?  Hard hitting questions like that one may be just what keeps my readership happy!  Yeah, right.

I am doing this because I truly enjoy helping people learn to identify both the good and the bad about their homes, teaching people proper home care and maintenance, and sharing unusual sights or happenings while I am doing home inspections.  This is a way to share those things with a wider audience.  And (shocker alert!) I’m also doing this for SEO purposes.  I think anyone who denies that that is a motivating factor isn’t being completely honest.

Sooo…what to anticipate…

There will be some good info about home inspections, home maintenance, energy savings, etc.  I hope.  I will try to bring items that I think will be educational and/or interesting.  But we can’t be serious all the time, right?  So I will try to inject some humor in here, too, whether or not it has anything to do with inspecting homes in north Texas.  And I will no doubt share some of my personal life, too.  I would like to be a home inspector that you can get to know, like, and trust.

If you have anything to share, please feel free to comment.  Or if you’re shy, you can send a private message.  And you can call “anytime” (which means “probably not in the middle of the night”) if you have any questions, want to find out more about the array of benefits that my home inspection clients receive, or to schedule your home inspection.  My number is (214) 558-9746.

 

 

 

 

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