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Clear debris and items like garden hoses from your yard, driveway and walkway to create a clear, safe walking path to your door. You don't want anyone to accidentally injure himself (or sue you later).
Secure loose items you want to keep like bikes. While you should secure these anyway year-round, you wouldn't want to lose these items to theft on Halloween. And you wouldn't want someone to come back later to collect these items because they notice you don't secure them.
Test your outside porch lights to make sure they work. Add lighting as necessary to create a path for trick or treaters to see clearly when walking to your door. A well-lit clear path also should keep these visitors from tripping and trudging through your flower beds and other garden areas. Plus a working outside light helps you to see who is at your door.
If you decorate with candles, place them in spots in your home or outside where pets and people won't brush against them. You don't want pets, people or your home to catch on fire.
If you have a skittish dog or cat, put him in another room with a television on low to keep him from getting spooked everytime your doorbell rings. Also, you don't want the dog snapping at or scaring trick-or-treaters (no matter how well-trained or nice YOU think your pet is). And cats have been known to hiss and scratch when frightened by strangers. So don't allow your pets to answer the door with you. That includes your pet birds, which not only scare non-bird lovers but could fly the coop due to all the chaos it's not used to being around.
Don't feel you have to answer the door after the typical trick-or-treater rush is over. Many people open their doors freely on Halloween because they expect to see trick or treaters. Once the rush dies down, you may want to turn off your outside light to indicate you're done answering the door for the night.
Do not allow any child or adult to come into your home. Hand treats out with the door propped open or on your porch. If an adult or child says they'd like to come inside to use your phone for an emergency, do not allow these strangers to enter your home. If you feel it's necessary you can offer to make a phone call to the number they give you while they wait outside on your doorstep. Lock your door when you leave them there to enter another portion of your home. If someone asks to use your bathroom, give them directions to the nearest public restroom.
You do not want strangers following you into your home for any reason---no matter how nice, big, little, desperate or stressed they seem. Likewise, the average person who doesn't know you does not want to come into your home anyway since you are a stranger to him too. So if a stranger is asking for access to your home, be wary and do not accomodate him. If they are trick-or-treaters from the neighborhood (as they should be technically), they can return to their own home for these needs.
Practice these home and Halloween safety tips every year and teach them to your children. Home security is an important topic year-round, but holidays present special holiday safety circumstances.
Often the reason that those over sixty-five are at an increased risk of falling on the stairs is as a result of arthritis, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's. These diseases, and those like them, can make an individual unsteady on their steps and is the reason that accidental deaths and hospitalization are so common for this age group. It should be noted though, that falls on the stairs can affect people of all ages and there are many people of every age that can not use the stairs safely. As a result, the stairs are often avoided, but this can lead to also having to avoid a part of your home. A stair lift presents a much safer, better, and more elegant solution to the difficulty of climbing up the stairs.
A stair lift uses a metal track that is typically attached directly to the steps on the staircase, but there are some that are instead attached to the wall. Usually the wall mounted stair lift is reserved for instances where there is limited space on the stairs or the staircase is curved. However, in the vast majority of other cases, the track is attached to the steps. A car moves along the track and it is this car that carries the stair lifts occupant up or down the stairs.
There are several popular models available for straight staircases that can be installed in only a few hours. Much of the stair lift is already assembled, so it is usually only necessary to install the track, install the wiring, and attach the car. Often the homeowner will complete the installation of a straight stair lift on their own, but there are also companies that offer installation services for these lifts. It is a good idea to decide whether you intend to do the installation on your own before you finalize the order. Most dealers can arrange for installation of the lift, but it will be easier and get finished earlier if you tell them when you order the lift.
There are several things that the homeowner should think about, aside from who is going to do the installation, before ordering the lift. It is important to know the weight of the person who the lift is for. If several people will be using it, go off of the weight of the largest individual. The length and width of the staircase are also needed to determine what type of stair lift will work on the stairs. It is a good idea to have a ballpark idea of the to start with, having a fairly accurate idea of the stairs dimensions can make finding the right lift much easier.
People all over the World use stair lifts to help encourage safety and reduce the risk of a fall. This risk reduction is extremely important for promoting safety in the home.