Winter Season Safety Tips

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Metro Atlanta Events for November 2013

October 25th - November 3rd: Georgia State Fair at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton

October 31st - November 3rd: Indian Festival and Pow Wow at Stone Mountain Park

November 1st: John Legend at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta

November 1st - 2nd: IrishFest Atlanta at Westin Perimeter North in Atlanta

November 9th: The Georgia Country Music Awards at the 120 Tavern & Music Hall in Marietta

November 16th: Celtic Thunder at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta

November 16th: Elton John at Phillips Arena in Atlanta

November 22nd & 23rd: Joe Bonamassa at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta 

Winter Asthma and Allergy Tips

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation (AAFA) offers some advice for helping minimize allergy and asthma triggers in your home this season:

• Most people store decorations in attics, basements or garages, and they can pick up dust, mold and other irritants while in storage. Thoroughly clean these before using them in your home. If one or more irritants is a trigger for you, wear a mask while cleaning. When you’re done with decorations, clean them again before you seal them in plastic bags and store them in airtight containers.
• If you or a loved one suffers from a tree or pollen allergy, artificial decorations can be a less irritating substitute, provided you opt for one that’s not coated with sprayed-on adornments. If you will be using a “living” decoration, you can reduce mold problems by thoroughly wiping it down where practical with a solution of lukewarm water and diluted bleach (one part bleach to 20 parts water). Before you bring any decoration inside, use a leaf blower to remove pollen grains.
• Everyone loves the smell of cooking, and subtle, sweet fragrances, but scent-creating home accessories can be irritants. Limit the use of air fresheners like candles, oils and potpourri. If you really want to fill your home with a special aroma, try baking using naturally fragrant ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon or citrus.
• A crackling fire can create a warm, festive mood for gatherings. To minimize potential irritation, don’t use wood-burning stoves or fireplaces at all. If you use a gas fireplace, check vents and use secured doors, rather than screens, to reduce smoke entering the room.
• When giving a welcoming or other gift to someone with allergies or asthma, keep their potential triggers in mind. For example, some children with asthma may be irritated by the materials commonly used in stuffed animals. Look for products that do not have sensitizing or allergenic chemicals such as formaldehyde. You can also find a list of allergy and asthma-friendly products on the AAFA website, www.aafa.org/certified.
• When welcoming guests having allergies or asthma, take preventative steps to help minimize irritants. Give your home a thorough cleaning (you probably would anyway) using cleaning products that can reduce allergens from hard surfaces, but that do not use harsh, potentially irritating chemicals. Vacuum using a high quality vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to reduce the chance of disturbing dust into the air. Don’t forget to change your furnace filters as well. Use a high efficiency filter that can last up to 90 days.

READ MORE ASTHMA & ALLERGY TIPS

How Can I Prepare for My Carpet Cleaning Service?

 

• Before we arrive, please have a place for us to park our cleaning van, street is ok if you have a sidewalk leading to the door. The shorter the vacuum hose run, the better.
• Make sure someone will be there to let us in at the scheduled time, if leaving the door open, please leave specific instructions of work to be done, areas to be cleaned, contact information and other pertinent information.
• Please plan to be out of the rooms that are to be cleaned.
• Keep children and pets out of work areas for their protection. Have in mind that the door will need to be left open wide enough for our hoses, in case you have pets that you do not want to go outside.
• Remove all breakables off furniture to be moved. If you can't move the items but want to us to move the furniture, please be reminded that we will not be responsible for any breakage.
• Let us know of problems with furniture, broken/loose legs etc. or items you do not want moved. Note: We do not move high risk items such as pianos, grandfather clocks, curio shelves, electronics, book cases etc.
• Let us know of any particular problems and areas of concern on the carpet or upholstery to be cleaned.  

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Fire Prevention Week October 6-12, 2013

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

Commemorating a conflagration
According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. Chances are you've heard some version of this story yourself; people have been blaming the Great Chicago Fire on the cow and Mrs. O'Leary, for more than 130 years. But recent research by Chicago historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events.

The 'Moo' myth
Like any good story, the 'case of the cow' has some truth to it. The great fire almost certainly started near the barn where Mrs. O'Leary kept her five milking cows. But there is no proof that O'Leary was in the barn when the fire broke out - or that a jumpy cow sparked the blaze. Mrs. O'Leary herself swore that she'd been in bed early that night, and that the cows were also tucked in for the evening.

But if a cow wasn't to blame for the huge fire, what was? Over the years, journalists and historians have offered plenty of theories. Some blamed the blaze on a couple of neighborhood boys who were near the barn sneaking cigarettes. Others believed that a neighbor of the O'Leary's may have started the fire. Some people have speculated that a fiery meteorite may have fallen to earth on October 8, starting several fires that day - in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Chicago.

The biggest blaze that week
While the Great Chicago Fire was the best-known blaze to start during this fiery two-day stretch, it wasn't the biggest. That distinction goes to the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire in American history. The fire, which also occurred on October 8th, 1871, and roared through Northeast Wisconsin, burning down 16 towns, killing 1,152 people, and scorching 1.2 million acres before it ended.

Historical accounts of the fire say that the blaze began when several railroad workers clearing land for tracks unintentionally started a brush fire. Before long, the fast-moving flames were whipping through the area 'like a tornado,' some survivors said. It was the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin that suffered the worst damage. Within an hour, the entire town had been destroyed.

Eight decades of fire prevention
Those who survived the Chicago and Peshtigo fires never forgot what they'd been through; both blazes produced countless tales of bravery and heroism. But the fires also changed the way that firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (today known as the International Fire Marshals Association), decided that the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should henceforth be observed not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. The commemoration grew incrementally official over the years.

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.

Reproduced from NFPA's Fire Prevention Week website, www.firepreventionweek.org. ©2013 NFPA.

Atlanta Events for October 2013

October 1st: Jack Johnson at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA

October 9th -13th: Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA

October 3rd - 13th: The Georgia National Fair in Perry, GA

October 5th and 6th: The Cotton Pickin' Fair in Gay, GA

October 19th: Kicks Country Fair 2013 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA

October 19th: Rod Stewart: Live the Life Tour at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA