• About
    • What We Live By
    • Staff
  • Residential Services
    • Plumbing
    • Heating & Cooling
    • Pools & Spas
      • Inground Pools
    • Electrical
    • HVAC Services
    • Air Conditioning
    • Boiler Services
  • Sewer Jetting Service
  • Commercial Services
    • Plumbing Services
    • Heating & Cooling
    • Pools & Spas
      • Inground Pools
    • Electrical
    • HVAC Services
    • Air Conditioning
    • Boiler Services
    • Sewer Jetting Service
  • Blog
  • Financing
  • Contact
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Clear Water Michigan

Livonia, MI

Call: 734-502-5060
  • About
    • What We Live By
    • Staff
  • Residential Services
    • Plumbing
    • Heating & Cooling
    • Pools & Spas
      • Inground Pools
    • Electrical
    • HVAC Services
    • Air Conditioning
    • Boiler Services
  • Sewer Jetting Service
  • Commercial Services
    • Plumbing Services
    • Heating & Cooling
    • Pools & Spas
      • Inground Pools
    • Electrical
    • HVAC Services
    • Air Conditioning
    • Boiler Services
    • Sewer Jetting Service
  • Blog
  • Financing
  • Contact

Electrical

Holiday Safety Tips: or Don’t Ask Clark Griswold to Decorate Your Home

December 6, 2016

Skating

 

December is here! Christmas and Hannukah are overlapping in their celebration this year (Note: Christmas lasts from December 25 to January 6th). Many moving parts add up to a well-celebrated holiday and one of those moving parts is safety. An unsafe holiday is no fun at all. Take a look at the following tips to keep you healthy, hearty, and hale into the new year.

Do NOT ask him to help you decorate your home!

Do NOT ask him to help you decorate your home!

Lights

The holidays would certainly be lacking if we didn’t have lights (electric and flame) inside and outside our homes as part of the ritual. There is a right way and and wrong way to use lights though.

  • Make sure your outlets are GFCI. Designed to prevent electrical shocks, they will protect you with lights you may hang in your kitchen or bathroom(?) or outside.
  • Don’t overload your outlets like Ralphie’s Dad in A Christmas Story. That can lead to a fire.
    Is this your house?

    Is this your house?

     

     

  • If you are going to hang lights out of a safe reach, then please use caution with ladders and step-stools. Be sure they are level and all legs are fully extended.

 

Fire

According to the American Fire Administration over 156,000 fires occur during the winter holiday season. Taking care here will prevent Christmas tree fires, electrical fires, and cooking fires which can lead to total property loss and fatalities. The holidays should not be spent in the hospital.

Christmas-Tree-Fire-Safety

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Water your “live” tree. Nearly everyone agrees, a well-watered tree is hard to burn.
  • To ensure proper watering, give your tree a fresh cut before bringing it into your house. Slice a half-inch or so off the bottom of the trunk to aid water circulation in the tree.
  • Keep your tree away from heat sources and make sure it’s level.
  • Never EVER put actual lit candles on or near your tree!
  • Be sure you have smoke detectors (with charged batteries) and a fire extinguisher in your home.
  • For homes with fireplaces, when was the last time the chimney was cleaned? (The National Fire Protection Association says, “Once a year.”)
  • Be careful with space heaters. They account for 40% of all home heating fires (source: NFPA).
  • Don’t deep fry your frozen turkey. Thaw it first.

And don’t forget…

  • Poinsettias (or poinsettas) are poisonous to both humans and household pets.
  • Keep breakable ornaments out of the reach of young children and cats.

Clearwater Construction hopes that you and your family and friends have a safe and Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and a prosperous and healthy New Year!

giphy

We mean it! Don’t ask for his help.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Electrical, Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas lights, Christmas tree, fire, Hannukah, safety

Shocking News about Electricity and Your Home!

September 2, 2016

shock

All right, that’s a bit overstated. There is nothing new to add to the field of residential electrical work. But we thought we might cover a few things that as a homeowner you might be interested in knowing should you need to call an electrician or even if you like to Do It Yourself.

Like most homeowners, you probably know (let’s hope you know this) that water and electricity don’t mix. Beyond that, perhaps you can do a little wiring or perhaps not. After that, the knowledge becomes hazy or non-existent. Still, you will probably have electrical problems at some point. If you’re not a DIYer, you should call a professional, LICENSED electrician.

#1 Mmmmm…The Warm, Comforting Glow of Flickering Lights

If you have an older home and you notice when the air conditioning powers on, your lights flicker. This could mean one of two things: you have undersized service or an overloaded circuit. You’ll want to take care of that unless you enjoy the lighting demonstrated by the GIF below.  animated-light-bulb-gif-20

#2 “Captain, the Circuits Are Overloaded!”

Homes built in the 1920s-1950s are especially prone to this: outdated or overloaded circuit breakers. Our current appliances have a much larger power demand (not to mention that we have many more kinds than were available in the past) than anything prior. Even hair dryers and curling irons can overload your home circuits.

The fix requires creating a split circuit or a dedicated circuit for a particular device or devices.

#3 The Lineman for the County Will Not Help with this

You know that cable that connects from the power pole to your house and electric meter?

Threadbare600

You are responsible for the care of part of that cable above and below your meter. If it looks weathered, you may want it replaced. It can be a fire hazard if it isn’t properly insulated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#4 GFCI–It Stands for Protection

Newer homes and those with electrical updates should have GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets. They are designed to prevent shocks in wet conditions. They should be tested every 30 days; some newer models feature self-testing. But you can test them yourself.

aid18389-728px-Replace-a-Defective-Electrical-Switch-or-Outlet-Step-5-Version-2

You should see a test button. Press it, though you may want to unplug whatever may be plugged in first. Press the reset button. If it doesn’t trip, you’ll want to change the device, it’s bad, either by yourself or by an electrician.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#5 Surge: It’s Worse Than a Sugary Drink 

Again, liquids and electricity don't mix.

Again, liquids and electricity don’t mix.

That power surges can ruin expensive electronic equipment is not a secret, but what’s less well-known is that furnaces can be damaged in power spikes. Contemporary furnaces have delicate circuit boards, much like a computer, that can easily be ruined. So, it makes good sense to not only have surge protection for your electronic entertainment devices, but your furnace as well. Though, we recommend having a professional install the one for your furnace.

#6 Generators–They Can’t Just Sit There

Whether you have a stand-by or (God forbid, those eardrum-busting) portable generator, you do need to maintain them. We’ll focus on the stand-by generator.

Stand-by generators should have an automatic test cycle (so you don’t have to), but if you notice that the test cycle fails to occur, well…you might want to call your friendly-neighborhood electrician.

#7 Big Boxes

Whether you’re going to install it yourself or hire it out, be sure the box is properly rated for a ceiling fan any any other heavy fixture you may want.

Who says electrical work isn't sexy? Look at that gleam!

Who says electrical work isn’t sexy? Look at that gleam!

So, that’s it. No matter how you handle your home electrical problems and projects, always, always, ALWAYS use caution and don’t take shortcuts.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Electrical Tagged With: electrical, electrical problems, electrician, electricity, generators, GFCI, service, wiring

Primary Sidebar

Newsletter

Sign up to receive news and special offers from ClearWater!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Find us on Facebook!

  • Facebook

blue-seal-280-80-clear-water-construction-services-90018444 Good Housekeeping

Location & Hours

ClearWater Michigan
12351 Stark Rd
Livonia, MI 48150

Phone:
734-502-5060

Hours:
Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm

Specialties: Heating and Cooling, Furnace Repair, AC Repair, Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Plumber, Electrician, Electrician Services, Swimming Pools
Areas: Livonia MI, Farmington Hills MI, Novi MI, Northville MI, Plymouth MI, Westland MI, Dearborn Heights MI, Dearborn MI, Redford MI

Copyright © 2021 Clear Water Michigan | Sitemap