Window Safety a Common Theme in Several October Awareness Campaigns

“There’s a common denominator of window and door safety in each of these public awareness campaigns,” says Gary Pember, vice president of marketing for Simonton Windows. “Homeowners should familiarize themselves with the operating and safety features of their windows and patio doors to help make their homes safer. From practicing fire drills with children to using locking hardware on windows, consumers need to actively participate in safety and security practices in the home.”

In conjunction with the focus on these awareness campaigns, experts at Simonton Windows offer these tips:

Home Security Window Tips

• Homeowners should always lock their windows and patio doors when not in use. This does two things: it helps deter potential intruders, and it creates a weather-tight, energy-efficient seal from the elements.
• Check your window frames. If you find warping or rotting wood, it can be easier for intruders to break into a home through your windows. Consider replacing them with vinyl framed windows. Vinyl is a great insulator, plus it’s durable and easy to maintain.
• If you live in a neighborhood that is prone to crime, install impact-resistant windows with laminated glass … at least for the first floor of your home. In these units, two panes of glass are adhered to a durable plastic interlayer, much like a car windshield. If an intruder hits the window with a crowbar or other object, the glass will shatter, but broken pieces will remain adhered to the interlayer, preventing glass fallout inside the home. The plastic interlayer is also puncture-resistant and will frustrate potential intruders.
• If you’re constructing a new home, request the SafePoint™ impact-resistant laminated glass package from Simonton Windows. Engineered to withstand flying debris, deter intruders, and reduce unwanted outside noise in the home, the SafePoint glass package helps reduce unwanted sound in the home and increase protection against high winds and offers proven protection against forced entry.*

Home Safety Window Tips

• Practice fire safety drills regularly. Small children tend to “hide” from fire, so make sure children are familiar with planned escape routes and know how to move quickly out of the home. For homes with bedrooms on second floors or higher, make sure safety escape chain ladders are under the bed in every room. Practice operating the window with older children and show them how to use escape ladders.
• “Have Two Ways Out!” is the theme of the nationwide 2012 Fire Prevention Week. Details and helpful tips can be found here.
• If a door is not safe to exit through during a fire, exit through an open window, using an escape ladder if necessary. Avoid breaking the glass in a window whenever possible, because it could cause serious injury.
• Never put nails or screws in a window frame to hold holiday lights or decorations. Also, do not glue, staple, or tape lights to a window frame. All of these activities can be potential fire hazards and can impede the successful operation of the window.
• Do not place lit candles on a window sill nor on the sash.
• Never decorate windows with anything that could impede them from opening quickly, in case you need to use the window as an escape route during an emergency. For example, don’t wrap garland or artificial pine branches around the window hardware.
• Although it's tempting, do not spray “fake snow” from aerosol cans on your windows. The “snow” residue can be hard to remove after the holidays and can hamper the operation of your window if it gums up the sash or hardware.
• Don’t ever paint windows shut. Every window in the home must be operational in case of an emergency.
• Homeowners should plant shrubs and grass and place “soft landscaping” items like bark and mulch directly underneath windows to help lessen the impact should someone fall out the window.

Healthy Home Window Tips

• Determine in what year your house was built. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the routine opening and closing of windows painted with lead-based paint (primarily in homes built prior to 1978) can cause microscopic lead dust to be released into the air.

• Contact a window installation professional trained and certified in lead-safe work practices to determine if there is lead-based paint on or near your windows before performing any renovation, repair, or replacement projects that involve windows or doors. Visit www.simonton.com/leadsafe for more details.

• Evaluate your family's specific needs. Research indicates that the everyday activity of opening and closing lead-base painted windows creates friction that then allows microscopic lead dust to enter the air. This is of special concern in households built prior to 1978, with young children who crawl on the floor. Toddlers put their hands in their mouths … and after playing on the floor near a window, they can easily transfer the lead dust into their mouths. The ingested lead can travel through the bloodstream to a child’s developing brain, potentially causing neurobehavioral damage.

• Replace older windows – especially single-pane windows – using the EPA-approved lead-safe renovation guidelines. Have your certified lead-safe contractor stabilize any significantly deteriorated paint and thoroughly remove lead-contaminated dust. Finally, perform dust wipe tests to confirm the absence of lead dust hazards after the clean-up.

*SafePoint laminated glass has an impact-resistant interlayer that can withstand repeated blows by a heavy object. SafePoint glass complements alarm systems and deadbolts for even greater security. With a Sound Transmission Rating (STC) of 32 – 36, SafePoint glass dramatically reduces unwanted noise infiltration.