Being safe means being aware of dangers out there, not only outside the home but also the dangers lurk-ing in your typical surroundings.AC = -->
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Normal, everyday activities at home such as cleaning, cooking and entertaining can be life-threatening without proper precautions.
Injury-prevention experts say more than 20,000 people die each year from accidents in or around the home; another 21 million end up be-ing treated for injuries.
The good news is that almost all of the most common accidents around the house are preventable, including falls, burns, drowning and poisoning, according to the Home Safety Coun-cil in Washington.
The bad news is that few people take the necessary steps to stay safe at home.
“Families consistently tell us that they realize it’s something that should be done, but they say they don’t have the time, they don’t know how to fix it, or they worry that the changes will be too expensive,” says council president Meri-K Appy. “This is the fastest thing people can do to improve their quality of life.”
Home safety can be simple with the council’s room-by-room accident-prevention guide. Ask yourself the following questions, adapted from that guide, to make sure your home is as safe as it can be. If you need to make changes, many are inexpensive and can be done in one weekend.
Front-burner issues
Cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires. Ask yourself whether you’re taking the proper precautions to pre-vent a kitchen fire.
Do you make use of the back burn-ers? Always turn pot handles toward the back of the stove to prevent chil-dren or pets from pulling down hot pots.
Do you have a “kid free zone” around the stove? Use masking tape to mark off this area. This will help teach youngsters that the space is for Mom or Dad only. Also, be extra careful when moving hot items from an overhead microwave to a counter-top or from the stove to the sink.
Do you use oven mitts that protect from the fingers all the way to the elbows? If you are burned, do not put butter, ice or ointment on the injury. Even slight burns need to be cooled down with water for three to five minutes.
Do you use commuter mugs for all hot drinks? Doing so will prevent spill and splash burns.
Do you stand by the pan when you’re cooking, especially with grease? Numerous synthetic and petroleum-based kitchen products – plastics particularly – burn hot and fast. A fire in the kitchen can grow from first ignition to “flash over” – when a room bursts into flames – in minutes.
Slippery when wet
Hot-water burns are the most commonly overlooked danger in the bathroom, which also poses hazards from falling on slick surfaces, drown-ing, or poisoning from medications or cleansers. A safe temperature for bathing is 90 to 100 degrees, but tap water sometimes gushes out of the faucet at 120 degrees or hotter.
Do you know how hot your tap wa-ter is? If not, do a thermometer test. You may need to lower the tempera-ture on your water heater to just be-low the “medium” setting. Honey-well, Kohler and other home-improvement companies make ther-mostatic mixing valves that attach to the water heater and mix cold water with hot water for a safer tempera-ture.
If you don’t have access to the wa-ter heater, which is often the case in apartment complexes, H2otStop makes anti-scald tub spouts and shower heads that reduce the water flow to a trickle when it’s too hot.
Do you avoid flushing the toilet, running the washing machine or dishwasher, and using the shower all at the same time? Doing so will re-duce dangerous water-temperature fluctuations.
Do you test the water temperature before putting your kids in the bath-tub? Place your entire hand in the water and move it around to check for hot spots.
Do you supervise kids and other people who need assistance bathing? Constant supervision is a must. A child can drown in just an inch or two of standing water.
Do you have slip-resistant pads or decals? These should be on the bot-tom of a tub or shower. Handrails and grab bars also go a long way toward preventing falls.
Do you keep the bathroom door closed when it isn’t in use? You never want a little one inadvertently wan-dering into the bathroom alone.
Do you read product labels? Poison hazards abound in the bathroom, kitchen and garage. Cosmetics, cleaning products, hair straighteners and mouthwash are common haz-ards. Look for products labeled with signal words in all caps, such as CAUTION, WARNING or DANGER. Lock these products away from kids and pets. Be especially careful of “look-alike poisons” like juice-colored, flowery-smelling cleaners.
Rest better (and safer)
Deep sleep often prevents people from waking up during an emer-gency.
Do you have smoke detectors, fire alarms and sprinklers in every bed-room?
Interconnected alarms that sound all at once when smoke is detected in one area of the home are a good idea.
Does your family have an emer-gency escape plan? Keep escape lad-ders on all upper levels. A ladder in the garage won’t help if a fire starts in the bedroom.
Have you read up on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Keep babies safe by placing them in cribs with nothing else in them – including toys, stuffed animals and blankets. Bumpers should be re-moved as soon as an infant can roll over. For additional crib safety, put infants to sleep in a wearable blanket, and position the crib away from the windows.
Easy living
Do you stick around when a candle is burning? Any open flame must be constantly supervised by an adult to prevent a fire. Instead of real candles, consider battery-operated, “flame-less” candles.
Do you have a carbon monoxide alarm? Heat sources such as fire-places, wood stoves or any appliance that burns oil, gas or coal produce this poisonous gas. Alarms should be on every level of the home.
Do you regularly test all carbon monoxide and fire detectors? Do this monthly to make sure they are in proper working order. Any alarms that are more than eight years old should be replaced, according to the Home Safety Council.
Does cigarette smoking happen outside only? Keeping cigarettes out of the house undercuts the risk that bedding or upholstery will catch fire from a smoldering butt. Wherever people smoke, keep a deep, sturdy ashtray there and water nearby.
Step it up
Falls are the No. 1 cause of home-injury death for older adults.
Are your stairs clear and well lit? Make sure there is lighting at the top and the bottom of a stairwell. This is also a dangerous place to allow clut-ter to accumulate.
Are there handrails on both sides of your stairs? The Home Safety Council is lobbying home builders to make handrails on both sides of a staircase a building standard. Use a round handrail as opposed to a wider, decorative one so the entire hand can grab the rail if needed.
Do you have baby gates? Homes with small children should keep these at the top and the bottom of all stairs. Placing a gate at one end or the other does not deter a possible accident.
Put on the brakes
Poisoning poses the largest hazard in the garage, but accidents also are common.
Do you warm up your car outside? Warming up the car in the garage can cause carbon monoxide to get inside the home.
Does every tool have its place? Pick up clutter, and stow it away to pre-vent trips, falls and cuts.
Do you use child-safety locks? Just putting items on high shelves does not keep kids safe.
Do you keep gasoline outside rather than inside?
Avoid bringing gasoline into the home or garage. Limit how much you keep by buying only enough for one chore at a time. Store it in a child-resistant container, preferably in an outside, detached shed.
The great outdoors
Are you hyper-aware when kids are playing in or near water?
Don’t read a book or talk to a friend.
Is play equipment sturdy? Four-by-four wood construction is better than 2-by-4.
Are you mindful of “landing injury” risks?
Children’s outdoor play areas should have 9 to 12 inches of soft material such as wood chips, rubber mulch or pea gravel on the ground. Dirt, sand or grass will not ensure a safe landing. Preschool-age children should not be allowed to climb higher than 4 feet. Extend a “fall zone” 6 feet in all directions.
Do you protect yourself while gar-dening or mowing? Consider cover-ing your eyes and ears to prevent being struck by flying debris. Read the labels on all herbicides, pesti-cides and pool chemicals, and store them behind child-safety locks.
KINGTECH
