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Looking After Your Home: What Would You Do?

Imagine that your parents have gone out for the evening, and you are looking after your young brothers and sisters at home. This is a big responsibility! You need to be ready to solve problems and keep everyone safe. Let's think about two common situations that could happen, and discuss the best way to deal with them.

Situation One: The Stained Shirt

Imagine that your little brother is playing in the kitchen. Accidentally, he pours some tomato juice down his shirt and stains it badly. The red stain looks terrible! What would you do if that happened?

Some people might look for the most powerful chemical cleaner in the house and attack the stain immediately. They think this would get rid of the stain quickly. However, this is not a good idea! If you did that, you would probably damage the material. The shirt might be ruined forever, and you can't try again if the material is destroyed.

The better choice is to be patient and gentle. First, you should try to get rid of the stain with cold water and soap. This is safe and won't harm the shirt. If that doesn't work the first time, don't worry! You can then use a gentle chemical cleaner. Because you haven't damaged the material, you can try again if necessary. This way takes more time, but it's much safer and smarter.

Situation Two: The Burning Oil

Now imagine a more dangerous situation. You are cooking dinner for everyone, and you're using a pan with hot oil to fry some food. Suddenly, the oil in the pan starts burning! Flames are coming from the pan! This is very scary, but you must stay calm and think carefully. What would you do?

Some people might think they should turn off the cooker and immediately pour cold water on the burning oil. This sounds like a good idea, right? Wrong! This is extremely dangerous! If you did that, the oil and water together would create a huge and dangerous fire. The flames would explode everywhere, and everyone in the house would be in serious danger.

The correct action is much simpler and safer. If a pan of oil starts burning, you should turn off the cooker immediately. Then, you must cover the pan with a lid or a wet towel. If you did this, it would stop air from reaching the oil, and this would quickly stop the fire. The fire needs air to burn, so when you cover it, the flames die out safely.