Odds & Ends for Fall (October 31, 2001):

Everyone reminds you to set your clocks back and check the batteries in your smoke alarms, but how old is that smoke alarm? Is it 5, 10, 15 years old? Think about it. Do you run your car with out cleaning it or doing any maintenance on it? Your smoke alarm runs 7 days a week 24 hours a day and you only change the battery once or twice a year. Be safe this year and replace your smoke alarm. Think about your carbon monoxide detector and check it.
Some other things that use backup batteries are automatic set back thermostats, clock radios, and clocks. It’s a good time to change those batteries too.

A few more things to remember to do before the cold weather hits: Disconnect your garden hose and drain it. Never leave your hose connected, because it will freeze and may cause the pipe inside the house to freeze and brake. Also, the water freezing in the hose is hard on it. Take all the paint, bug killer, and liquid yard and garden chemicals out of the garage and put them in a warm, cool place. Freezing and thawing can damage the chemicals. Make sure you put them in a safe place where your kids and pets can’t get in to them. Get your snow shovel out, do any needed repairs and give it a good coat of car wax. The wax will help keep the snow from sticking to it.

Now is the time to check out that snow blower and make sure it runs and is ready for winter. We’ll give you more tips on how to do this next week.

Check out the online catalog for smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.