12 Broadcaster Press September 25, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com FallHome Improvement & Car Care 2018 How Seniors Can Safely Stay Behind the Wheel Protect Your Home (and more) From Winter’s Freeze Freezing temperatures may be good for ice skating or building snowmen, but subfreezing temperatures can be dangerous for the average person and his or her home. Cold weather often leaves people scurrying to do whatever is necessary to safeguard themselves from the big chill. But itÕs important homeowners also protect their homes in cold weather. Plumbing Plumbing and pipes may be vulnerable to cold weather. Frozen pipes may burst their homes with oil, wood or coal should and cause substantial damage to a home, make sure they have plenty of fuel on hand potentially causing flooding and structural in advance of winter. Shortages can occur, damage. and it may take some time for new fuel to Homeowners should disconnect and arrive in the midst of a cold snap. drain garden hoses before winter arrives. As a precaution, homeowners can rely on Water to outdoor hose bibs should be portable space heaters to fill in the heating turned off, though the valves on these outgaps during freezing temperatures. Exercise door faucets should be left open to drain. extreme caution with these devices, turning Also, outdoor faucets can be covered with them off when leaving the room and rememinsulating foam covers. bering to avoid overloading outlets. The Red Cross says pipes that freeze Protect outside most frequently include pipes in unheated Drain birdbaths, clean out downspouts areas, such as basements, attics, garages, and remove water from other items where and crawl spaces. Close vents to the outside water can freeze and cause damage. Inspect in areas like attics and basements to limit roofing prior to the snowy season, but stay the amount of cold air that gets indoors. off roofs during freezing weather. Think about insulating unheated areas, Remove snow shovels and other winter as well as using pipe sleeves, heat tape or gear from storage and make sure the items wraps on exposed pipes. are easily accessible during snowstorms. By opening kitchen and bathroom cabiWinter’s bite can be severe. Homeowners net doors, homeowners can allow warm air can protect themselves and their properties from a home to reach pipes under the sink. when the freeze sets in. During extreme freezes, keep cold water ? MetroCreativeConnection dripping from a sink to prevent pipes from freezing. Service HVAC systems Henderson’s It’s important to ensure that heating systems are working properly prior to the cold-weather season. It may only take hours for the interior of a home to Two Locations Open 24 Hours • 815 Princeton St • 921 E Cherry St • Vermillion reach dangerously low temperatures without adequate heat. Homeowners should schedule annual checkups of furnaces and hot water heaters. Inspect the heat exchanger for cracks, install a clean air filter and make sure all thermostats are working properly. For that Spic-and-Span Have fuel ready show room quality shine! Homeowners who heat side effects of a new prescription are making it difficult to safely operate a vehicle, discuss potential alternatives with your physician. • Avoid driving in certain conditions. Driving in inclement weather, during rush hour and at night makes many drivers uncomfortable, regardless of their age. But such conditions can be especially dangerous for aging drivers whose vision and reaction times might be fading. Seniors who avoid driving in harsh conditions and heavy traffic may be more comfortable behind the wheel, thereby reducing their risk of accident or injury. Seniors need not give up their drivers’ licenses at the first signs of aging. But adjusting certain behaviors and exercising extra caution can help these men and women stay safe behind the wheel. ? MetroCreativeConnection How to Prepare Your Lawn and Garden for Winter Winter weather can be harsh. Homeowners who spend much of the year tending to their lawns and gardens may worry that winter will undo all of their hard work. Though homeowners cannot do anything to prevent snow, wind and ice from affecting their properties, they can take various steps to prepare their lawns and gardens for whatever winter has in store. • Mulch leaves. Falling leaves are a telltale sign that winter is coming. In lieu of raking leaves as they begin to fall, homeowners can mulch them into their lawns. Scotts¨, an industry leader in lawn care, notes that mulching leaves is a great way for homeowners to recycle a natural resource and enrich the soil of their lawns. While it might not be possible to mulch fallen leaves in late autumn when they begin to fall en masse, doing so in the early stages of fall should be possible so long as the lawn is not being suffocated. Scotts¨ recommends mulching the leaves to dime-size pieces to a point where half an inch of grass can be seen through the mulched leaf layer. • Rake leaves as they start to fall more heavily. Once leaves begin to fall more heavily, rake them up and add them to compost piles. The resource GardeningKnowHow.com notes composting leaves creates a dark, rich and organic matter that can add nutrients to garden soil and loosen compacted earth. Leaving leaves on the lawn once they start to fall in great numbers makes it hard for grass blades to breathe, and the leaves can block moisture from reaching the soil, which needs water to maintain strong roots. In addition, potentially harmful pathogens can breed on damp leaves left on a lawn, and such bacteria can cause significant damage to the turf over time. • Apply a winterizing fertilizer. Winterizing fertilizers can help lawns store food they need to survive through winter and also can help them bounce back strong in spring. Such fertilizers are typically formulated for coolseason grasses such as fescue and bluegrass and are often best applied after the final cut of fall. Warm-season grasses go dormant in winter, so homeowners whose lawns contain these types of grasses won’t want to apply a winterizing fertilizer. Homeowners who don’t know which type of grass they have or are concerned about when to apply a winterizing fertilizer should consult with a lawncare professional before fertilizing. • Remove annuals from the garden. Annuals won’t be coming back in spring, so it’s best to remove ones that are no longer producing from the garden before the arrival of winter. Doing so can prevent the onset of fungal diseases that may adversely affect the garden in spring. Fall is the perfect time for homeowners who spend months making their lawns and gardens as lush as possible to take steps to prepare such areas for potentially harsh winter weather. ? MetroCreativeConnection O Ultimate P R CAR WASHES Hartington Tree LLC Tree Trimming, Removals & Transplanting Trees for sale: EvErgrEEn • ShadE ornamenTal FALL IS A GREAT TIME FOR PLANTING! Yankton 605-260-1490 Hartington 402-254-6710 Serving Southeast SD & Northeast NE Kent & Kyle Hochstein • Licensed Arborists www.hartingtontree.com F • Don’t skip medical checkups. Few seniors may look forward to their medical checkups, but visits to the doctor can reveal issues that can help seniors be safer on the road. Schedule routine vision exams so eyeglass prescriptions are always up-to-date. In addition, seniors should discuss hearing screenings with their physicians so they can ensure they can always hear sirens and other motorists while on the road. Great strides have been made in regard to helping people with fading hearing hear better, and seniors would be wise to take advantage of such advancements, which include hearing aids that can be connected to smartphones. • Familiarize yourself with medication side effects. Whether they do so temporarily or permanently, many seniors take medications, and every medication comes with side effects. When filling a new prescription, carefully read the dosage and description label to ensure that it’s safe to drive while taking the medicine. Make note of how you feel when taking a new prescription, avoiding driving if the medication makes you feel fatigued or drowsy or affects your motor functions. If the O A greater sense of independence is often cited as the reason so many young people anxiously await the day they earn their drivers’ licenses. But the connection between driving and independence is not lost on seniors, either. Aging can take its toll on drivers, prompting such drivers’ families to feel as if their loved ones’ ability to safely operate motor vehicles has been compromised. However, many seniors can still safely operate motor vehicles, and those who do can take steps to ensure they’re as safe as possible behind the wheel. • Avoid driving on days when aches and pains are strong. Aches and pains are common side effects of aging, and seniors know that some days are better than others. Seniors’ ability to control their vehicles may be compromised on days when stiffness, aches or pains seem particularly strong, so it’s best to avoid driving during these times. Fatigue may set in on days when aches and pains require extra effort to perform relatively simple tasks, and drivers of all ages should avoid driving while tired. Name Ace Hardware Vermillion Ace Hardware 812 Cottage Ave., Vermillion, SD 605-624-3195 Store Hours: Mon-Sun 7am - 8pm 123 Name St. Name Ace Hardware Name Ace Hardware 123 Name St. City, State ZIP (000) 000-0000 www.acehardware.com Store Hours: www.acehardware.com Mon-Fri 0-0, Sat 0-0, Sun 0-0 City, State St. 123 Hardware Elk Point(000)Name ZIP Ace000-0000 City, Elk ZIP 118 E. www.acehardware.com Main St.,StatePoint, SD (000) 000-0000 605-356-3311 www.acehardware.com Hours: Store StoreSat 0-0, Sun 0-0 Hours: Mon-Fri 0-0, Store Hours: 6pm Mon-Sat 7:30am - Sun 0-0 Mon-Fri 0-0, Sat 0-0, Sun 10am - 4pm