IN THIS ISSUE:
- Simple Steps for Smart Living
- Safe Winter Walkways
- Smoke Alarm Safety Tips
- Help Prevent Home Fires
- Frequently Asked Questions
Simple Steps for Smart Living
Reduce your home energy use this winter to save $500 or more on your home energy bills.
- Home Heating – Save up to $100 per year for each degree you lower your thermostat. Open blinds and drapes on south-facing windows during the day to let in heat, and close blinds at night to trap in warmth.
- The Kitchen – 5% of annual home energy use is in cooking. If broiling, baking or roasting, don’t preheat your oven if cooking dish for an hour or more. Using a correct sized pan can save an additional $36 per year for gas and $18 a year for electric stove burners. Use the energy saving settings on your dishwasher and let dishes air-dry for additional savings.
- Fireplace – Keep your damper closed unless a fire is going. An open damper can let as much as 8% of your home heat escape.
- Washers and Dryers – Wash clothes in warm water and rinse in cool water to save up to 90% of the energy used by washing in hot water only. Clean your dryer lint screen regularly to save up to 5% of your annual electric bill.
- Weather Proofing – Improve your home insulation and fill cracks and gaps to save up to $180 a year. By installing double-paned windows, you can save an additional $400 a year.
- Water Heaters – By reducing your hot water temperature from 130 to 120 degrees, you can save $50 – $100 per year.
Sources: 1Simran Sethi, nationally recognized environmental advocate and 2 “The Green Book,” edited by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen (2007, Three Rivers Press).
Safe Winter Walkways
A Call For Volunteers
Interested in helping others? The City of Lawrence has joined the Douglas County Senior Services to match seniors needing help with sidewalk snow removal to volunteers who want to do a good deed.
Volunteers are asked to commit for the entire winter season and visit his/her matched home each snow fall.
To volunteer call: (785) 832-3338 or register at www.lawrenceks.org.
Smoke Alarm Safety Tips
Smoke Alarms save lives, but only if properly installed and functioning.
Install
Lawrence code requires that you install at least one smoke alarm on each floor and one alarm in each sleeping room. Smoke alarms are designed to wake you up if a fire starts while you are sleeping. Be sure your smoke alarms are near bedrooms and other sleeping areas in your home.
Test
When was the last time you heard your smoke alarm? Battery operated alarms should be tested once a month to make certain they are working.
Battery
Replace the batteries in your smoke alarm once a year. We recommend you do this when you change your clocks to Daylight Savings Time each fall and back each spring.
Replace
Replace your smoke alarm every ten years. After ten years, your smoke detector will have been working consecutively for 87,000 hours. No other appliance in your home works this long. If you do not know how old your smoke alarm is, or if it is ten years or older, replace it as soon as possible.
Smoke Alarms and Renting
Whether you live in a rented house or apartment, your landlord is required to provide you with a working smoke alarm. Tenants are responsible for maintaining the smoke alarm(s) in good working condition.
If your rental property does not have a smoke alarm, inform your landlord of this obligation. If you are having difficulty communicating with your landlord about this matter please contact:
City of Lawrence Planning and Development Services at (785) 832-7700 or www.lawrenceks.org/pds
Help Prevent Home Fires
The leading cause of fires in the home are cooking, electrical, heating equipment and fires caused due to smoking materials. 65% of fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
KITCHEN SAFETY
- Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. Turn off the stove if you leave the kitchen – use back burners whenever possible.
- Keep children and pets at least 3 feet away from the stove.
HEATING EQUIPMENT SAFETY
- Have heating equipment professionally inspected and serviced yearly.
- Keep space heaters at least 3 feet from anything that can burn, such as curtains and bedding. Turn heaters off when you leave the room.
- Have your chimneys cleaned and inspected before each season.
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
- Replace or repair loose or frayed cords on all electrical devices.
- Plug only one high-wattage appliance at a time into an outlet.
- Avoid running extension cords across doorways or under carpets.
OTHER
Put out all candles whenever you a leave the room for any period of time, unattended candles start many fires. Do not burn candles in your bedroom.
- Keep matches and lighters in a locked cabinet where children cannot reach them.
- Practice your family fire escape plan twice a year.
- Install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) electrical outlets in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor areads, basements, and garages. GFCIs greatly reduce the risk of shock by shutting off an electrical circuit when the circuit could be a shock hazzard.
For more information visit: www.lawrenceks.org/fire_medical
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make a water bill payment?
- Direct Withdrawal from your bank account – you will still receive a monthly bill, allowing approximately two weeks to review before payment.
- Online Payment:* http://payments.officialpayments.com
- By Telephone:* (888) 255-0126, available anytime.
- By Mail – return envelopes provided with your bill. Bills are considered processed the day they are processed, not the day they are mailed.
- Drop Box – locations include: Dillon’s, HyVee (Clinton Parkway), Checkers, East of City Hall between the Riverfront Mall and City Hall, and in the foyer of the east entrance.
- In Person – if paying cash, come to the Utility Billing Office (City Hall – 6 East 6th Street, 2nd Floor), so that we may issue you a receipt. DO NOT mail cash or leave cash in drop boxes, 8am – 5pm.
* Online and Telephone payments accept Visa or Mastercard. A $3.95 fee applies. Payments take 3 business days to post.