Home Safety & Risk Reduction

Disaster Preparedness

Just like having a working smoke detector, preparing for the unexpected in other ways makes sense. Follow along for Prepare Kansas blog posts and learn how to plan ahead for the most common emergencies we experience in Kansas – temperature extremes including drought, tornadoes, floods, and fire.

A little work now can make recovering less difficult. We’ve broken the program down to a few activities to do each week, which makes it easier than if you’re trying to do many activities from a long list. Working on each activity gives families an opportunity to not only work together on becoming better prepared, but can spark conversations about preparedness in general and the best ways to handle future emergencies.

Prepare Kansas is an annual online preparedness challenge from K-State Research and Extension designed to help individuals and families be better prepared ahead of disasters which can make recovery easier. The program focuses on a few activities every week during September. Activities vary each year.

Prepare Kansas Tips:

Create and practice an emergency plan
Learn life saving skills
Know your insurance coverage
Save for an emergency

Additional Online Resources:

Family Communication Plan for Parents and Kids
KSReady.gov - State of Kansas portal to information and resources on emergency planning and preparedness for the public, businesses, schools, children, elected officials and first responders
Make a Plan - Family communication plan from KSREADY.GOV
Ready.gov - Prepare. Plan. Stay informed.
Food Safety After a Flood - After a flood has devastated your home or business, food safety is one of the many things to be considered.
Get Financially Prepared: Take Steps Ahead of Disaster - A fact sheet from the K-State Resource and Extension Family Resource Management Program Focus Team
Boil Order Instructions

Cleaning 101

Cleaning your home should happen frequently. Deep cleaning or Spring cleaning can take place any time of year! An excellent strategy is to use the “Four Container” system.

Use a trash bag or other container for broken, ripped, worn, or stained items to be thrown away.
Use a Put Away box for items that you want to keep, but have strayed from their designated spot in your home, and need to be returned to a more appropriate location.
Use a Give Away/Sell box or other container to designate items that can be sold at your next garage sale or through a consignment store. You could also donate these items.
Use more permanent storage containers such as plastic tubs or vacuum seal bags to store out of season clothes or other items.

Start small with this system. Try it out in a small closet first, before tackling an entire room. Set a timer, and work in short time increments, so that you don’t get overwhelmed or overly tired. Allow time for clean-up and putting away in this exercise.

Involve family members in your cleaning and de-cluttering projects, so they have some ownership in what is thrown away, given away, or will be sold.

Then, when your task is completed, remind everyone that a little bit of cleaning and de-cluttering needs to be done every day. It’s every family member’s job to keep items picked up and put away.

Helpful Links

Mold

Molds are fungi that are found everywhere - both indoors and outdoors all year round. The terms fungi and mold are often used interchangeably, but mold is actually a type of fungi. Concern about indoor exposure to mold has increased along with public awareness that exposure to mold can cause a variety of adverse health effects. There are many thousands of species of mold and most if not all of the mold found indoors comes from outdoor sources. It seems likely to grow and become a problem only when there is water damage, high humidity, or dampness.

Molds produce and release millions of spores small enough to be air-, water-, or insect-borne. They can also produce toxic agents known as mycotoxins. According to the United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, spores and mycotoxins can have a negative effect on human health. Mold does not affect everyone, and different people are affected differently when mold is breathed or inhaled. People with allergies or asthma are more sensitive to mold.

Mold can range in color from white to green and orange to brown and black.

Mold exposure may cause:

Because mold spores are very small and can be easily inhaled, it is not safe to live in houses with high mold levels. Exposure to prolonged high spore levels may cause the development of an allergy to mold.

Helpful Links

Mold Cleanup, Removal and Remediation - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Moisture in Basements: Causes and Solutions - University of Minnesota
A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Radon

What is Radon?

Radon is a natural, tasteless, odorless, colorless, radioactive gas produced from the decay of uranium found in nearly all soils. Radon gas moves from the ground under and around your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels. One in four homes in Kansas may have elevated levels. In some counties this rate may be higher. The only way to know the radon level in your home is to test.

Radon is the leading cause of lung caner among nonsmokers. The risk of developing lung cancer increases as the concentration and length of exposure to radon increases. Many scientist believe children may run an even greater risk from radon exposure than adults, and smokers are definitely at greater risk than nonsmokers.

Do You Have a Radon Problem?

Test Kits are available and can be purchased at the Wildcat Extension District Offices
A radon mitigation system will fix your home. Radon resistant homes can be built.

Kansas Radon Program
Engineering Extension
133 Ward Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6026

Kansas Radon Hotline
1-800-693-5343

Helpful Links