Your Place: Tips on keeping your home free of burns

This is Burn Awareness Week, so I thought we'd take some time to talk about safety. It's an important subject: The National Fire Protection Association says fire- or burn-related causes injure 350 children age 19 and under every day.

Here are a few kitchen precautions to consider, thanks to the folks at First Alert:

Cook on the back burners when young children are present, and keep all pot handles turned back, away from the stove's edge.

At mealtime, place hot items in the center of the table, at least 10 inches from the edge. Use non-slip placemats instead of tablecloths if toddlers are present.

Never drink or carry hot liquids while carrying or holding a child.

Keep fire extinguishers close by, and within easy reach of the cooking area.

Question: I made the mistake of parking under a pine tree and now have hardened sap spots on the hood of my car. Can you recommended anything that might remove them without damaging the car's finish.

Answer: I've seen a lot of really strange suggestions online, including using a razor to carefully remove the spots, then wiping down the area with WD-40.

Another person said using water on the spots would dissolve them, but you probably tried that.

I'm sure the problem is widespread enough to be handled by experts in the car-washing or body restoration field. Have a solution? Send it in.

Oh, really? From a reader responding to problems with new appliances:

"A reader wrote in about several new appliances breaking down, and you felt that the issue may have been the electric service in the house. Well, maybe. It seems to me, however, that everyone I know will attest that today's appliances are designed to break down shortly after the warranty expires.

"Three years ago, we redid our kitchen and had the wiring upgraded. Since then, we are on our second over-the-stove microwave and have had several problems with the range. These were all top-of-the-line appliances.

"A friend had her kitchen redone a few months ago and has had issues with both the range and refrigerator already."