Stay warm - and safe - during the winter months

This time of the year is the high-risk season for house fires. But there certainly are things you can do to make your home safer. Think about some of these areas in your home and make adjustments to ensure a safe winter this year.

Make sure you have your fire department on speed dial.

The second thing you should do is buy and learn how to use a fire extinguisher. Everyone should have at least one. Place it in an easy-to-access area of your home, near but not inside areas that are high-risk like kitchens, garages or near fireplaces. Show everyone how to get it out and use it.

Smoke detectors are cheap and sometimes free through your fire department. If you have them, put fresh batteries in and test them yearly.

In the kitchen, never leave food cooking unattended. Keep pot holders, paper towels and kitchen towels away from your stovetop.

Space heaters are a common culprit. Keep all combustibles at least 3 feet away from heaters. That includes curtains, rugs, blankets and papers.

Never use damaged electrical cords or electronics. All of us do-it-yourselfers are prone to fixing bad wiring but, when it doubt, throw it out!

Candles are a common holiday decoration, but they should never be left burning when you are not in the room. If you are busy or careless by nature, switch to LEDs. They are foolproof!

Never leave lighters or matches lying around if you have kids. That might seem obvious, but if children are visiting, you may not be used to watching out for these types of issues.

Carbon monoxide is something that also can cause serious health issues, even death. If you have gas appliances, you need to have a carbon-monoxide detector in your home, tested and in good working order at all times. Keep in mind that you should replace old carbon-monoxide detectors after about five years because dust can prevent them from sounding as quickly as a new one would. Have your appliances inspected yearly to make sure they are operating safely.

We hope that you and your family have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

Painting tip

Painting a bathroom is usually an easy project - small room, nothing too complicated, pretty straightforward. But working around the fixtures can be a little challenging. After all, you usually can't move a toilet or a sink to paint behind it. But you can attach your paintbrush to a longer handle like a paint stir stick, ruler or a dowel rod. This will enable you, in most cases, to get a layer of paint onto the wall without making a big mess. Try it and see if it might do the trick for you!

Add power to your wrench

Ratchet wrenches give you a lot more power! But if it's still not enough, add a "cheater." Grab a scrap of pipe and put it over the ratchet wrench handle to extend it. This added length will give you a lot more muscle. You need to be very careful not to slip and hurt yourself or break your wrench, because you will have all the power you need with this little helper.

Super hints

• When you need to get some glue into a tight joint or a narrow crack, do the best you can with your tube, tools and a toothpick, and then use a small air compressor to blow the glue a little further into the crack. Even a handheld air pump can help.

• I would love to be able to use an over-the-door wreath hanger, but I've sealed my door up too tightly. What I did instead was install a long, wide strip of metal ribbon stapled to the inside of the door at the top so that it goes over the door from the inside and hangs down on the outside. I attached a hook to the end so I can hang different wreaths on it, for each season. Best of all, my door still is tightly sealed against the weather.

• Magnetic strips are very handy in the shop. You can store small tools and hardware on them. But you also can use them indoors. They are perfect for bathroom storage, like tweezers, clippers and pins. They also are great for craft and sewing rooms.

Q. Several years ago we had some concrete pumped in under our sidewalk, which had started to sink. But now the sidewalk is sinking again. What can we do this time?

A. Before moving forward, I would consider talking to an engineer to see if you can find out why this is going on. Once you deal with any problems, then you can try to have the sidewalk jacked up again with the concrete.

Q. Our family room has a very boring fireplace. It has a plain, beige tile surface around the front opening, and I'm dying to change it up and make it look better. What can I do to give it a more modern look? Can I replace the tiles? Can I just cover them?

A. Well, you can paint the tiles or replace the tiles. You can use mirror tiles or use rock over the tiles. It's really up to you. You might also consider replacing your gas logs with special "glass logs." Check your fireplace shop for some interesting ideas.

Q. I have a very heavy, flat sculpture that I need to hang on my dining room wall. What is going to be the best hanger for this?

A. A two-piece device called a "cleat" is your best bet. Of course, it needs to be attached to a couple of studs inside the wall, but it will hold the most weight. This may not work on all items, but it sounds like it might work for your particular piece. Good luck!

Reader tips

• I have a mop that has a twist-off head so I can throw it into the washing machine and clean it when it gets dirty. This works out to be pretty economical, except that it's kind of a loose fit now. I fixed it, though, by wrapping a scrap of steel wool around the threads of the handle as I was twisting the head back on. This took up the slack and it fits tight now.

• Last winter we had our first freeze in our kitchen sink. It's never happened before, and only did it once, but I learned a neat trick out of desperation. When I figured out that the waste drain was frozen, I poured some salt into the drain with the water. It took about an hour, but the line did start draining after that. I just figure if would work on the sidewalk it might work in the drain, and it sure did. I'm glad I had some handy.

• We re-covered our dining room chairs with new fabric. But before finishing, my wife came in with some plastic material to put over the fabric on each chair to add another layer of protection against stains. It was thick and very stiff. I got out a hair dryer and used it to soften it up a little as I worked with the stapler around the edges. This made it much easier to fold over, and it's a smooth, tight look. I hope these last, because I don't want to have to do this again anytime soon!

• I love my old country kitchen. It's very authentic and, although I would love updates, I just love its old charm. Some of the cabinet hinges don't work like they used to, but I found a solution. I exchanged some of them with others that do work well in areas that I don't use very often. This way I have good hinges on the cabinets I use every day, and not-so-good hinges on the ones I seldom use. It's working for me pretty well so far.

• We decided we wanted to wallpaper a room in our home and were getting all set up for it. We decided to use our kitchen table as our worktable. We covered it with a plastic tablecloth that we have used for outdoor picnics. We figured if we slopped all over it, it wouldn't get messed up. We did make a mess - thank goodness for the plastic tablecloth! It might have left scars on the kitchen table. The wallpaper looks pretty good, but I think I'll stick to paint from now on.

Shoptalk

• Mini blinds are great. They block out the sun and give you lots of privacy. But, if you want more style, you need to cover them with drapes or at least a valance. But mounting these can be a hassle. You're going to love Slide On Curtain Brackets. These simple brackets slip right onto the end of the standard mini-blind mounting bracket. This means one mounting for both blinds and curtains. No screws, no nails and no measuring. You simply slide off the front cap, slide on the new curtain rod bracket and rod, followed immediately by your curtains. It's amazing how simple this is and how nice they will look. To find out more, go to www.slideonbrackets.com.

• You probably already know about Great Stuff Expanding Foam for insulating and sealing up gaps, and we love the stuff. Great Stuff also makes PestBlock. It can be used the same way in sealing up gaps around water pipes, dryer vents and other utility entry points, but it tastes terrible, especially if you are a bug! It's paintable, stainable and sandable, so it can be used in lots of different places around your home. It's great for sealing out bugs and other critters. Check it out at www.greatstuff.com, and you also can buy it at your home center and hardware store.

• Write to Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit online at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2014, Cowles Syndicate Inc.