With the increasing prevalence of electric vehicles, bikes, scooters, and tools, ensuring the safe handling of lithium batteries has become essential.Only certified charging devices should be utilized, and active monitoring during charging is recommended to prevent overheating. Batteries exposed to moisture must be promptly removed from any building or structure, as wet batteries pose an elevated risk of combustibility. When not in operation, batteries should be stored in a cool, dry environment away from direct sunlight.

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NFPA Cooking & Kitchen Fire Safety Tips

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) offers clear, actionable guidance to help prevent kitchen fires—especially since cooking is the leading cause of home fires and injuries.

Here’s a breakdown of their top safety tips:

General Cooking Safety

• Stay in the kitchen while frying, grilling, or broiling. If you leave (even for a short time) turn off the stove.
• Keep flammable items like oven mitts, wooden utensils, towels, and food packaging away from stovetops.
• Turn pot handles inward to prevent accidental spills or burns.
• Watch for smoke or boiling grease—these are signs the heat is too high. Turn off the burner immediately.

What to Do If a Fire Starts

• Keep a lid nearby when cooking. If a small grease fire starts, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it’s completely cool.
• Never use water to extinguish a grease fire—it can cause the fire to spread.
• If the fire doesn’t go out quickly, evacuate and call 911 from outside.

Maintenance & Prevention

• Clean cooking surfaces regularly to prevent grease buildup.
• Install smoke alarms in or near the kitchen and test them monthly.
• Know how to use a fire extinguisher, remember the PASS method: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep.

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We don’t just do comprehensive inspections …

… We also do 4 point and wind mitigation inspections

Aries Home Inspections

Call for a free quote  (954) 382-9277

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Supplies: black construction paper, pencil, scissors, tape.

Make a stencil first – visit firstpalette.com/printable/bats.html for a printable version. Trace the outline of a bat onto the construction paper with the pencil and cut out along the lines, cut as many as you want. Tape on the staircase walls or in a hallway. You can add depth by cutting out bats of different sizes.

Hanging ghosts

Supplies: white medium size garbage bags, rubber bands, old newspaper, string or yarn, black tape (optional).

Ball up the newspaper and stuff into the ends of the bags to make ghost heads. Loop the rubber bands around the head to give the body some shape. Use the black tape to make eyes and a mouth if desired. Hang from trees or lampposts using the string or yarn.

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Install motion detectors. They can be connected to lights, fans, or any other electrical device. They’ll save energy dollars by automatically turning on the electrical device when you enter a room or area of your property, and then they’ll turn the device off when you leave. They can also make your home more secure by turning on exterior lights if there is an intruder.

Match pans to burners. For stovetop cooking be sure to use the burner that most closely matches the diameter of the pot or pan you are using. You could save around $36 a year with an electric range or $18 with a gas range.

Keep your stovetop shiny. When the metal pans that surround burners on older stove tops become blackened from charred spillover, they absorb heat. When they are clean and shiny they reflect heat and require less energy to cook food.

Bake in the toaster oven. If the dish you are making will fit in your toaster oven, cook it in there. It could slash the energy cost by more than half over a full size electric oven. You’ll save time too because a toaster oven preheats much faster than a full size oven.

Install a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater costs about the same as a tank water heater, but is likely to last more than 20 years as opposed to the 10-15 year life expectancy for a tank type heater. Plus, tankless models are 24-34 percent more energy efficient. Tankless heaters are not recommended for large households however.

Banish power vampires. Charges for phones, tablets and other cordless devices drink juice even when they are not charging anything-so unplug them. Likewise, turn off or unplug televisions, computers, cable boxes and game consoles-anything with an indicator light.

Upgrade to LED lighting. You can cut the amount of energy used by your light bulbs by up to 90 percent by switching to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) from traditional incandescent bulbs. LEDs also last 25 times longer, meaning you won’t spend as much on new bulbs over time.

Get help paying for improvements. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program may provide funding to help you pay for weatherization and energy related home repairs. Find out if you qualify by visiting your state’s LIHEAP website or calling 866-674-6327.

Taken from the AARP Article

by Beth Braverman and David Schiff, AARP, Updated July 19, 2022

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We all know a mitigation inspection report is required by the insurance companies for ALL home or townhome properties.

But do you know that they are now also requiring a 4 point inspection report on MOST of these properties?

Call us for a free quote

954-382-9277         

Aries Home Inspection Service, Inc.

Serving Broward, Miami/Dade, & Palm Beach counties since 1996

arieshomeinspections@gmail.com.                www.ariesinspections.com

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If  you’re  a  pet  owner  you  know  that  when  you  have  a  pet,  the years spent  together  seem  like  forever.  But  when  they  die  it  seems  like  it  went  by  so  fast.  Over  the  years  we’ve  been  through  this  numerous  times  with  our  dogs  and  cats.  Our  last  3 dogs, Louie, Frankie,  and Buddy  died  in  2008  and  2016,  Mikey,  a  cat,  in  2021.  All 4 were strays that just found us.

It  took  some  time,  but  through  a  local  rescue  we recently  adopted  a  little  dog  named  Jack.

He’s  a  very  sweet  and  loving  little  guy  and  we  are so  lucky  to  have  found  him.

Any  animal  lover  knows  that  giving  a  pet  a  home  is  one  of  the  best  feelings  you  can  experience.  I  encourage  anyone  looking  for  a  pet  to  check  out  their  local  shelters  or  pet rescues.  You’ll  make  your  new  friend  so  happy  to  have  someone  to  love  and someone  who  loves  them  back.

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They do a great job. However, there are times when I question how both commercial and ordinary drivers have passed their test. This is because I think I’ve seen it all (until something new occurs) …

… So how is your driving?

We came up with a few items to help you answer this question.

• The left lane on a highway (Turnpike, I95, Sawgrass Expressway, etc.) is for PASSING ONLY. After passing the vehicle in front of you, don’t just stay there, move back to the right. If you are in the left lane and cars in the center and right lanes are passing you, YOU SHOULDN’T BE THERE.
• When there is an accident on a highway on the opposite side, not affecting your side, and you slow down to a crawl to check it out YOU ARE CREATING the long delays we’ve all experienced.

• Moving over a lane for stopped emergency vehicles on a highway does not only refer to fire and law enforcement vehicles but also tow trucks, road rangers, etc.
• LIGHTS ON when driving in the rain is not in order for you to see but for YOU TO BE SEEN. Any truck that must use the side mirrors only, will not be able see you with your lights off
• EMERGENCY FLASHERS OFF when raining, everyone else already knows it is raining.
• With 2 right turn lanes and a sign saying RIGHT TURN ON RED RIGHT LANE ONLY or RIGHT TURN ON RED THIS LANE ONLY means just that. You do not have to wait for a green light to turn right from that lane.

• Left turn on red, NEVER.
• If you are anywhere in an intersection when the light turns red you RAN A RED LIGHT.

• The wide white line at an intersection is the stop line for vehicles, this is where the first car should be at a red light. There is no reason to stop 1, 2, or more car lengths behind it. The 2 narrow white lines are the crosswalk.
• When in line at a red light you should stop a few feet behind the car in front of you, no reason to be 2, 3, 4 car lengths away. Also, if you are approaching a red light and need to use your phone, do you simply stop wherever you happen to be, do your business, then gradually edge up? What makes more sense is to first stop behind the car in front of you and then do your business. Now no one is affected.

• A flashing red light is the same as a stop sign. A solid red light is not, contrary to what we have seen.
• No Parking Fire Lane (almost never observed).

So how did you do? …

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Tired of those difficult to read check box reports loaded with frivolous photos?

Frustrated with those lengthy reports, 50 pages, 80 pages, or more (no one wants to have to read a book), with silly repairs that too often can ruin a deal?

Fed up with inappropriate or negative rhetoric used by an inspector that influences your buyer?

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

GIVE US A TRY!

• Our narrative reports are easy to read and to the point (and not ridiculously long)

• Silly repairs are not included.

• We verbally go over the repairs after completing an inspection with no added commentary (we let the buyer decide what is or is not important to them)

• Reports are usually issued the following day.

• In addition, you need more than just a home inspection … You need the professionals you can depend on even after the job is done. That is why we back all our inspections with specific warranties or services at no additional cost to you.

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