Any building, in any industry, in any area of the world, is susceptible to having potentially hazardous and radioactive exit signs installed throughout their building.

This could mean they are in schools, near your office, or anywhere else where a radioactive setting probably isn’t a desired situation to be in.

This is why we thought it was necessary to create this post to help and guide you towards identifying, removing, and finally replacing your radioactive exit signs with new signs that are much safer and even efficient, saving you money over other alternatives.

Firstly before we can remove and replace these seemingly nuclear exit signs, you have to be able to identify if you have them or not. But before that, lets explain what exactly makes these exit signs radioactive.

How are some exit signs radioactive?

Just the same way as some exit signs are safe, it is all in the way they are built. For some reason, whether it be technology of the time or something else, people assumed it was a good idea to create exit signs with Tritium, also known as 3H or H-3. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, causing exit signs made with this to be radioactive by default. The only seemingly positive upside to these exit signs is that they are non-electrical, meaning they won’t rack up anything in electricity bills.

But before you become alarmed with what we have shared with you so far, tritium emits only a low-energy beta radiation, which in turn causes the sealed glass tube it is in to glow (causing the exit sign to give off the illumination it requires). Thankfully, it is rather well known that this type of radiation can hardly (if at all) penetrate a piece of paper or clothing. So while yes it is a very low level (energy wise) type of radiation, the fact that there are alternatives that will remove radiation entirely from your building is all the reason to uninstall your tritium exit signs and replace them with something more safe, like LED exit signs.

Now that you understand the technology and how tritium in exit signs work a little bit more, let’s go over how exactly you can identify whether or not you have these types of exit signs in your building.

Identifying a radioactive exit sign should be fairly easy. All of these signs are required to have some sort of “Caution of Radioactive Material” warning on the fixture.

If you do find such a warning label, it is safe to say your light is made of tritium. Another tell-tale sign is whether or not your signs are connected to an electrical source or not as tritium signs do not require any such connection.

Once you’ve identified if you have a tritium exit sign or not, if you do happen to have one, you may continue on to removing and replacing it with the alternative exit sign, LED.

As with any lighting fixture, we recommend to bring in a professional contractor to do the job. But as a general guideline, you can typically recycle your tritium signs by returning them to the manufacturer or place of purchase.

If you purchased the building with them pre-installed and are unsure of where they came from after inspection of the signs for any brand markings, you can try two things:

1: Try contacting the previous building owner or collect records of where they were manufactured

2: Recycle them with a third party. like these), buying them, then installing them yourself or with a professional (we recommend a professional).

Here are a few things you should remember and keep in mind when dealing with a building that has radioactive exit signs:

stimulating sensors in the eye that then send signals to our internal clock. It also Nobel Prize in Physics. So how can someone suffering from insomnia enjoy the technology that this marvelous invention forged?

“If you can block blue light, you can actually create something called circadian darkness or virtual darkness” says Researcher Dan Pardi in an Studies have shown that by wearing these amber-tinted glasses, you can produce almost as much melatonin as if it were pitch black, even in a fully lit room or while looking at a bright screen on your tv, phone or tablet.

If you’re a holiday enthusiast who loves to add lighting and decorations to celebrate, you’ve probably either added extra outlets or considered the possibility in order to accommodate the lighting you use at Christmas. Those same outlets can provide a valuable resource to your home throughout the year. Once installed, you’ll wonder why they weren’t there in the first place as you find additional reasons to use them.

Guests

When you have guests they’ll appreciate the extra power sources so they can charge batteries for their phones, tablets or computers. Because of the extra outlets it isn’t a disruption to have to unplug a light or other appliance to accommodate for additional electric needs. This adds comfort for you, your family, and your guests who will feel especially welcome by not having to inconvenience you for their own needs.

Holiday Lighting

Well, it happened again. The kitchen and bath pros who make up the via www.marketwatch.com

Giant windows are great if possible. That’s a big IF, though. Sometimes, natural light isn’t an option, either because the laundry room is subterranean or otherwise windowless. Obviously, in the image below, natural light is not an option. Yet, the color temperature of the ceiling light is neutral enough to make this laundry room bearable while another, poorer lighting choice could have made this tiny laundry room annoying to visit and kind of scary.

You didn’t think I was going to avoid talking about lighting solutions just because natural light is such a great option for laundry rooms, did you? So, how should you light your laundry room? For any type of laundry room, there are some fundamental guidelines.

I’ve already suggested that you ALWAYS USE NATURAL LIGHT, when and if possible. And for your other light sources? Consider choosing lights with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of as close to 100 as possible. A light source’s CRI is, in effect, a metric by which to compare the ability of artificial light to render color as well as the sun. 100 is the maximum CRI. Some lamps, like low-pressure sodium lamps, can actually have really low CRIs, while there are now some LED lights with CRIs of 95 – 98. If the sun isn’t shining in your laundry room, there are plenty of excellent options that closely match natural light’s ability to render color and help you keep your clothes clean and fresh as can be.

Layer your lighting.

OK, so this is the main theme in pretty much all lighting design guides. Layering your light pretty much means that you should think about general light, accent lighting, and task lighting. In the main section of a house, this might look like mini recessed ceiling lights with square bronze trim, elegant track lighting to spotlight a painting or picture, and a reading light by the chair or some under cabinet lights illuminating the bar counter. In a laundry room it might look like the image below.

Sometimes, in larger laundry rooms, you can have all three kinds of light. But, generally speaking, laundry areas are on the smaller side and are too focused on pragmatism for decorations that would benefit from accent lighting. Keep in mind that this is a generalization with exceptions galore, but, generally, the two kinds of lighting you’ll find in laundry areas are ambient overhead lighting and task lighting, and this scheme usually takes the form of a ceiling light or two and under cabinet lighting.

Creative Options.

This Valentine’s day, show your partner how deep your love runs for him or her by cleaning all the neglected kitchen appliances! Chocolates, flowers, and jewelry are nice too, don’t get us wrong. It’s just that serious cleaning says a lot about how much a person cares. By tackling these uncharted territories, not only will the love your partner has for you grow, you may even rekindle the love you once had for your home. That’s a whole lot of love going around.

Can you remember the last time you cleaned the inside of your refrigerator or behind it? It isn’t the easy appliance to maneuver around, so it’s likely that you haven’t cleaned behind it since you moved in. To clean your refrigerator, first pull it out so that you can mop up the dirt, debris, and gunk that’s been left behind. Then, vacuum the coils, which are located either behind or beneath your refrigerator.

All refrigerators are equipped with door gaskets to prevent cold air from escaping. If you have loose gaskets, read through your owner’s manual to find out the replacement part numbers. Your local hardware store should have gaskets in stock.

Make the outside of your fridge sparkle with a solution of equal parts water and white vinegar. If you have a stainless steel fridge, rub in the direction using either a paper towel or a soft wash cloth.

Now that the outside of your fridge looks brand new, it’s time to tackle the other not-so fun part, which is the inside. Clean all shelves and crispers. Perhaps you can use this time to throw away all your expired foods and beverages that you forgot existed.

Even if you have the luxury of owning a self-cleaning oven, some work is still required on your part. Using a solution of equal parts water and vinegar, wipe down the door hinges and frames. You can tackle the particularly rough spots with a some baking soda and a sponge.

How to Clean Your Stovetop:

Soak your burners with hot, soapy water for a few hours, and then scrub. The drop plate may be the dirtiest component of your stove. Before your scrub this area, use a vacuum to get out all the accumulated gunk.

To loosen up all the baked-on foods in your microwave, fill a microwave-safe container with water and heat it until it boils. Wait a few minutes before opening the door so that the steam can do its job; then wipe.

We know how counter-intuitive this sounds, but trust us – it’s a task that needs to be done! Your dishwasher works day in and day out to clean your dishes; it’s only a matter of time before all the gunk accumulates.

If your planning to cook dinner for your partner this Valentine’s Day, he or she will notice how sparkling-clean the plates are!