Your Flower Planter Can Burn Your House Down

Here's something you don't think about every day. Do you have a planter sitting on your front porch or back deck somewhere that has potting soil in it? Have you been meaning to plant something in there but just haven't gotten around to it. Did you know this little set-up could cause your house to burn down?

Yes, it can. It's called spontaneous combustion and it happens more often than you think. Just ask your local fire department and look around on the internet. The gases and build-up from the fertilizer create heat...heat hot enough to spontaneously start smoking or burst into flames. I just heard a caller on a radio show say they smelled smoke for a few days. They just thought the neighbors were doing some barbecuing. When they started to smell it more often, the husband looked out his back window to see huge flames leaping up the side of his house. The firemen said if he hadn't been home to catch that and alert them, his whole house would've burned down. The fire inspector said the fire began in that planter on the back deck. His wife had been meaning to plant something in there....for the last year it sat like that.

Keep that in mind and go check your planters. It could save your house! Do you have any other nutty advice to share from around the house?