How to prevent accidents around loose blind and curtain cords

Curtains, corded blinds or shades used as window coverings with cords or chains can cause injury and death to toddlers and babies if they get wrapped around their necks. 

According to numbers provided by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, between one to two children die in Australian homes annually as a result of corded blinds and curtains.

Nowadays, landlords are legally obliged to keep properties hazard-free, and that includes all corded window covers that are fitted and maintained in accordance with the Australian National Safety Standards (2014).

Keep your kids safe

Do not leave your children unattended around the internal window coverings. 
Strangulation can occur when cords are too long and get loose or end in a loop:

• If a child moves quickly, plays with a cord or even if they slip, the cord can act like a noose. 
• Babies can reach through crib slats, grab a curtain or blind cord and pull it around their necks.
• Young children can strangle or dangle cords after climbing onto a bed or other pieces of furniture, such as a couch or sofa.

Australia’s National Safety Standards

Australia has two mandatory standards that apply to blind and curtain cord safety.

These safety standards set out the installation and labelling requirements providers must add to when selling and installing corded curtains and blinds. 

Installation

• A corded internal blinds and curtains must be installed in a way that ensures a loose cord cannot form a loop longer than 22 cm and 1.6mts above floor level.
• The corded internal blind or curtains must be installed following the installation instructions on any retail packaging.
• A cleat used to secure a cord must be installed at least 1.6mts above floor level.

Labelling

• Be sure that warning labels or swing tags supplied with the internal corded blinds or curtains remain attached to the cord.
• The installer of an internal corded blind or curtain must attach a label to it with the name and contact details of the company or person responsible for the installation.

Is your home a safe place?

Double check these following 5 recommendations to keep your house safe at all times:

• Make sure the installer secure any loose or looped cords. Not let them hang down.
• Fix tie-downs and tension devices firmly to the wall or window frame, so children are not able to remove them. It should be done with materials that can support significant load.
• Do not place furniture near a window where children can reach corded blinds or curtains.
• Walk through your home and inspect every room for blinds or curtains with long cords that are loose or looped, including any cords within children’s reach at floor level or near furniture they can climb on.
• Consider replacing corded blinds and curtains with cordless options.

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from Service Today https://www.servicetoday.com.au/blog/how-to-prevent-accidents-loose-blind-and-curtains-cords/

Signs and Symptoms that your Plumbing Vent is Clogged

In plumbing, the concerns that homeowners prefer to call a plumber to fall into one of two main categories: very obvious and very serious. Homeowners prefer to call a plumber if there’s a leak in a bathroom or kitchen sink. If they’ve got a clogged shower, they call plumbers. 

Stuff that is right in front of us or triggers big concerns for us seems to catch our attention. However, plumbing difficulties are not apparent, but are also obvious; those that have not yet turned into serious problems. For homeowners, these small issues are important to get resolved as quickly as possible until they turn into expensive and very difficult repairs.

Today, let’s talk about a question that we rarely get from homeowners (but that they should know the answer to): How to know if my plumbing vent is clogged? If you know what to look for, let’s discuss the signs and symptoms you can find, but if you don’t, it can be easily overlooked, as well as why it’s so important to cope with a clogged plumbing vent with the aid of an licensed plumber like the experts at Plumber Sydney. 

How to know if your Plumbing Vent is clogged?

Let’s start by talking about a plumbing vent before we get into how to say whether your plumbing vent is clogged. The plumbing vent also referred to as a vent stack, is a vent that controls the air pressure in your plumbing system on the roof of your home to allow water flow efficiently into drain pipes. The plumbing vent is also the responsible for keeping your house smelling fresh and clean, as it prevents any sewer fumes and gases from getting into your home.

So, let’s get deep! 
How do yo actually know if this vent is plugged? 

These are the top three signs that you may consider as warning that your plumbing vent is clogged: 

1. Gurgling toilets and drains

Have you ever noticed that a gurgling sound is coming from your sink or toilet after you flush? 
This is probably the first thing you will notice, because if your plumbing vent is blocked the air will not be able to escape as it normally would do, so in order to keep functioning it finds the closest exit such as your toilets and drains and makes noises while escaping. 

2. Bad odour coming from your sewage

This one is related to the first symptom. As soon as you heard any noise coming from your plumbing, you will pay attention to others signs and you will easily recognize that something is not working properly because it is stinks! 

When there is a clogged in the plumbing vent, sewer gases can’t escape and it may re-enter through the drains. If by any chance your toilets or sinks have this distinct smell, call a plumber straight away. You don’t want your family breathing in Methane, which is a combustible that can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

3. Sluggish drains

If your drains are backed-up, it could be a symptom that your plumbing vent is blocked and can’t properly regulate the air pressure to keep things flowing constantly. Slow drains can stem for other plumbing issues, so make sure you call your local plumber to check out all your plumbing. 

What can I do if my Plumbing Vent is clogged?

If you are suspecting having a clogged plumbing vent, we suggest to call a licensed plumber immediately. Service Today has the latest equipment and the experience to inspect your plumbing system and detect the issue on a quickly and timely manner.

Sewer problems are often really messy and hard to fix if you are not a professional plumber. A clogged plumbing vent may need to open up your walls in your home so they can have a look at the drainage system with the hydro jet drain cleaning. Some other times you have to check the roof to see if there is anything clogging the plumbing vent pipe such as leaves, bird or bird’s nest or rodents. 

When it comes to Plumbing issues, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) is not an option. However, our recommendation is always to pay close attention to the plumbing around your house, because the sooner you catch the issue, the cheaper and easier will be to fix.

 

The post Signs and Symptoms that your Plumbing Vent is Clogged appeared first on Service Today.

from Service Today https://www.servicetoday.com.au/blog/signs-symptoms-of-a-clogged-plumbing-vent/