The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
First Aid For The Ailing Houses
TURNING OFF THE GAS AND ELECTRICITY
The main gas valve should be closed, but before this is done, all of the gas burners and jets should be turned off in the house. Otherwise, when the gas is again turned on, these will provide leakage that could explode or asphyxiate.
Some of the places where a gas jet may be found are:
1. In the pilot-light of the hot-water heater. The thermostatically controlled burner valve should be turned off, and the small cock that controls the pilot light should also be turned off. A card or piece of paper should be attached to this cock to remind the home owner that it is to be turned on again when the house is opened.
2. The pilot light in a gas stove or oven. For the burners, the cock will usually be found by raising the main grating top. The pilot light usually has a cock at the base of a long tube which leads to a central point in the middle of the burners. The cock for the oven pilot light will usually be found in the front of the broiler compartment( at the top) or in the storage space beside the oven.
3. The pilot light in a floor furnace or other gas radiant heating unit. These cocks are located at different spots on each unit, but may be found with a bit of searching.
4. The pilot light in the automatic clothes dryer. This is usually reached from the hack of the unit, or from a front or side access port, usually fastened with screws.
5. The pilot light on a gas furnace. This is usually located near the main burner valve.
6. The burner in a gas refrigerator.
Each one of these pilot lights should be marked with a wired-on card or paper, and a list left in a convenient place to remind the returning home owner of the necessity for turning them on again.
There are two schools of thought on leaving the electrical lines operating. Some say the main switch should be pulled to prevent any chance of lightning or short circuits in the wiring from causing a fire while the occupant is away. Others say a light should be left burning to frighten away burglars (see section on Burglar-proofing).
If lights are to be left on, the fuses or circuit breakers for all other branch circuits, other than the one to be used, should be disconnected.
FREEZER PROBLEM
The home freezer will present a problem if the home owner decides to leave the house with all facilities turned off. Of course if the temperature in the house remains below freezing during the owner's absence, and the freezer door is closed tight, the perishables inside should be safe. In fact, even if there should be a thaw and the temperature in the house should climb above freezing for even a week, a good freezer would still protect the contents. However, this is a problem the home owner should realize and make his own decision as to whether to leave the electricity turned on when the family goes away.
