The product covered today is a useful appliance for all Indian kitchens which use LPG as the cooking raw material. The product is manufactured and sold in India by a company called Zicom.

Image courtesy : zicom.com

Product Features:

• Detects gas leakage from LPG or CNG
• In-built hooter gets activated once gas leakage is detected
• Two-hour battery back up
• Fire-proof and resistant to high temperatures

The cost of the product is Rs.950/- as per the company website.

To see where this product can be purchased in India please visit :

http://www.zicom.com/consumer/locater/conslocation.aspx

You can also reach the company via a toll free number : 1-800-22-4567 (BSNL and MTNL users only)

Mobile users can SMS ZICOM to 58888

When someone knocks on your front door or rings the calling bell, one normally has to guess who the person could be. But if we analyze this from a security aspect, there are lot more risks associated with this “guessing game”.

Image Courtesy : rbs.ru

Enter – Door Eye / Magic Eye, a simple and practical solution to the problem. Most homes are probably already installed with one. Just in case yours is not, then this article is just the one for you.

A door eye is a device which only permits the occupant of the home to have a clear view of the outside world, while it restricts the person at the door (outside) from viewing into the home.

This is an upgrade to a simple peep hole where the stranger present outside is also able to see the interior of the home. The door eye also has in most cases what is called a “wide angle” lens arrangement. This makes it possible to actually get a good panoramic view of the outside and give a sound judgement to the home owner before opening the door.

Installation involves drilling a hole on your main door (as shown below) and mounting the magic eye within it. The second portion of the device is inserted from the inside of the door and screwed on till they fit tightly.

Image Courtesy : rd.com

The door eye is normally mounted at a height which is the country average for a man/woman. In India usually is mounted at a height of about five and a half feet from the ground level.

Sometimes children cannot be seen through the door eye and also ambient light is needed for good visibility. So having a corridor light is a good idea so that you can view your guests even in dark conditions.

It should be available in most hardware stores. We shall update what it would cost in the comments section. You are welcome to leave your comment or query too!

Fire is a major hazard which can cost a lot. Huge losses, both personnel and property takes places due to fire at homes. This is true for kitchen where open flame is used to cook. Fire can result from to a number of reasons.

• Carelessness
• Open flame
• Electrical malfunctions
• Candles/Lamps
• Fireworks
• LPG Gas, oil
• Cigarettes

The end result of all this is devastation and it would be a prudent thing to have a professionally certified fire extinguisher at home. Just to remind you, not all types of flames can be (and should not be) put out by pouring water over the fire.

Ceasefire is a common brand-name in the Indian market for home fire extinguishers.

Image courtesy : ceasefire.in. Click on image to enlarge.

Not all the products shown in the picture above are for home use. The smaller cans which you can see are suitable for home and even for cars if safety is of paramount importance to you.

There are two websites which we discovered for Ceasefire. The first one, http://www.ceasefireindia.com/ is apparently still under construction. The second one is http://www.ceasefire.in/homepage.htm which is, in our opinion a very difficult to use website. You can navigate and let us know if you agree with our comment.

The home models carry a 5 year Guarantee! The types of extinguishers which are available from Ceasefire are:

• ABC Extinguisher
• Clean Agent Extinguisher
• Co2 Extinguisher
• Ceiling Mounted Extinguisher
• Water Extinguisher
• AFFF Foam Extinguisher

We will try and cover more on this topic in the coming days.

We saw the Godrej Secure range of safes in the Electronic Show in Chennai. Though not entirely new to the market, it makes sense to invest in one. We try to throw some light on it. 

The two models we saw were ‘Taurus’ and ‘Treasure Chest’ – both electronic password Safes. You can enter a 3-6 digit code in the ‘Taurus’ model. A 6 digit secret code means 10 lakh combinations. That makes your safe relatively burglar proof.

Why would one go for a Safe at home/office:

• The same option is available at banks. Though banks may be actually even safer, they charge  rental for your safes. Not only the rental, you have to make a visit to the bank every time you want to withdraw something from your safe.

• Certain items like documents may not always be at risk of being stolen, but you cannot let them lying around.

• Normally house holds use the Locker in the almirah as a place to store their valuables. Safes are definitely more safer.

• Accidents like fire accidents, natural calamities can cause damage to important documents, valuables…etc.

Available models include Rhino, Saffire, Matrix, Treasure chest, Protector, E-Swipe, Centiguard among the others. Each of these has features different from others. Depending on your requirements, you can narrow down on one of these. A short manufacturers’ description of each model is outlined below:

• Centiguard – Burglar and Fire Resistant Safes.

• Defender Plus – Burglar and Fire Resistant Safes.

• E-swipe – Electronic Safes

• Matrix – Burglar Resisting Safes

• Protector – Electronic Guestroom Safe

• Rhino – Burglar Resisting Safes

• Safire – Fire Resisting Safes

• Treasure Chest – Electronic Safes

The price range is between Rs. 1,000/- and Rs. 30,000/- depending on the model and capacity that you opt for.   

Regularly seen in offices, hotels and more, first aid boxes in our opinion should become mandatory in every home.

Image Courtesy: wheredidyoubuythat.com

It may seem trivial, but the medicines and aids inside this box and minimize the seriousness of the situation before the doctor can be present.

We recommend that you have this box in an easily accessible location in your home and also mark the medicines and aids inside clearly.

Some of the most common problems that can be treated with the first aid box contents are:

• Burns
• Cuts
• Fever
• Allergic reactions
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea
• Fever
• Sprain or related muscle injuries
• Insect bites

 Our recommended contents of the box (this is not an exhaustive list)

• Sterile dressings
• Bandages
• Adhesive bandages
• Tweezers
• Torch light with a set of spare batteries
• Cotton wool
• Antiseptic alcohol based liquid
• Thermometer
• Sprays for common sprays and aches (not to be used on open wound)
• Calamine lotion
• Pain killer tablets
• Aspirin/Paracetamol tablets
• Cough syrup
• Burn ointment

It would be wise to give everyone a crash course in first aid at your home.

Couple of points to be noted:

1. The expiry date of each of the contents inside has to be checked periodically. For your convenience, place a paper on the inside of the lid and have it list the expiry dates for all the contents inside.
2. First aid should not be treated as a joke. It should be administered with care with proper adult supervision.

Hope you have learnt some thing from this post.

For more detailed article, please refer to wikipedia