During children’s playdates, while having guests over, or when having repairmen on the premises, unfortunate accidents are prone to happen. Health and safety negligence can easily lead to personal injury, potentially turning you into a negligent host liable for the harm. Make sure you and the rest of the members of your household are aware of all the potential dangers lingering in and around the house.
Learn how to prevent home accidents using the following guidelines and tips.
Bioethanol Burner and Fire Safety Guidelines
Know how to recognize and tackle the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Ensure children, whether your own or your child’s playdates are never around these sources of fuel or fireboxes. Also, never leave a room before extinguishing all bioethanol burners. Pay attention to any signs of drowsiness or flu your guests might be showing and take immediate measures. To make sure your children and their playdates are constantly monitored when you are not in the same room as them, consider installing surveillance cameras in and around your home.
Keep the extremely flammable bioethanol fuel for burners in dedicated containers with well-secured lids. Keep the containers in areas that are far away from any possible sources of ignition. Place fireboxes on stable surfaces. Use special containers for storage and never keep the container near combustible fabrics.
Make sure you never discard matches in the container storing bioethanol fuel and only use extended lighters or extra-long matches to light the decorative burners
Do not smoke in bed and do not allow your home guests to smoke in bed, on sofas, or near flammable curtains, upholstered furniture, and carpeting. Keep candles and portable heaters away from draperies, curtains, and furniture. Carefully choose their locations and make sure they are not easy to knock over. Never dry any clothes near an open fire.
Don’t dry or air clothes over or near the fire. Try to install certified individual smoke detectors or smoke and fire detectors as part of a more complex home security system installed by a professional.
Always have an escape plan and an emergency exit route prepared. Use them to quickly get out of a burning house. Immediately call the fire department. In case of injuries, give first aid to the victims.
Kitchen Safety Tips
Many serious injuries can occur inside the kitchen. Be proactive and prevent unwanted accidents by doing the following:
- never place heavy items on top shelves. This way, children and home guests will not risk knocking over a shelf and having a heavy kitchen appliance or set of pots fall on them.
- always place the handles on the pans inwards to prevent small children from reaching and pulling them over
- keep sharp knives well out of reach of children, preferably inside locked drawers
- use cordless kettles or kettles with coiled leads to prevent children from pulling on the cords and suffering a burn
- be extra careful when handling hot water, soup, tea, or coffee, especially when there are small children or guests around because of the high risk of scalding
Know How to Safely Use Household Cleaners and Store Medicines
Pay extra attention when handling any type of home cleaner or chemical medicine. Have a handyman fit small-keyed locks on your bathroom cabinets or drawers and use these cabinets to store all your chemical preparations.
Always keep the labels on all medicine containers and keep the medicines in their original containers. Never allow your home guests to take your medicine and make sure your children or your kids’ playmates cannot reach any meds, cleaning products, or chemicals, including bleach and caustic soda. Carefully follow the instructions written on cleaning products and avoid mixing different products, or you could risk having potentially dangerous gasses forming in the air.
Safety Precautions When Doing Repair Work In and Around the House
If you plan on personally handling any repair work in or out of the house, make sure you have the right skills and tools for it and try not to get overly ambitious. DIY repair work can easily lead to accidents that may result in serious injury or death. Only take on those jobs that you are confident you can handle and know when to ask for professional assistance from certified technicians.
Maintain your tools in good shape. Inspect them before using them or before handing them over to someone else about to use them. Always remember to stop and disconnect all your electrical appliances prior to working on repairing a broken wire or something else.
Never leave your tools or chemicals in areas where children can easily reach them.
Keep in mind that being a homeowner is a privilege, however with that comes responsibility. And its up to you to maintain a safe and healthy home environment.
