Your home is your sanctuary. It’s where you rest and relax and spend time with your family. It’s where you should feel safe, but homes come with multiple dangers that can affect your well-being.
In the United States, thousands of people die in accidents at home each year. In contrast, approximately 20 million people have to go to the hospital for treatment after home accidents. Creating a safe home takes deliberate effort to remove hazards and add safety features. Continue reading for some tips you can use to create a safe home for your family.
Prevent bathroom accidents.
Your bathroom’s one of the most dangerous rooms in your home. Taking a shower or bath pose the highest risks of bathroom injuries, but injuries also occur when people use the toilet. It’s easy for people to slip on wet surfaces, which is one of the reasons bathrooms pose an ongoing safety risk. Teaching family members to wipe up wet surfaces immediately can help reduce this risk, but you can also take other steps to make your bathroom safer.
Hire bathroom remodeling experts to redesign your bathroom. Perhaps you have an old bathtub or shower with a high-threshold base posing a safety risk. Experts with years of experience remodeling shower stalls can install a new shower staff with a low-threshold base to reduce the risk of trips and falls when entering or exiting the shower. Choose a base with a moisture barrier that eliminates standing water and prevents mold and mildew from growing in your bathroom.
While you’re updating your new shower, you can also have pros install safety grab bars. Grab bars help people maintain their balance and prevent falls, and they’re a great safety feature for older family members. Installing a new shower base will also protect your family’s health.
Focus on kitchen safety.
Some of the most common injuries that occur at home happen in the kitchen. One of the most common kitchen injuries stems from using kitchen knives. Sharpening your knives prevents injuries because dull knives slip on food, cutting the user in the process. The blades on sharp knives maintain their grip, which is why you’re less likely to cut yourself when using a sharp knife.
Common kitchen injuries also include burns. Use oven mitts when you’re removing items from your oven. You’ll prevent kitchen accidents by ensuring pot handles aren’t sticking out from the stove because you won’t bump the handle and spill hot water or food on yourself. Wearing long sleeves and standing back when you lift pot lids can also reduce burns from steam.
Prioritize fire safety.
There are thousands of kitchen fires each year, causing property damage, injuries, and death. Establishing and maintaining good kitchen safety habits can prevent kitchen fires. For example, don’t leave the kitchen when you have pots on the stove, and keep your kitchen clean. Cleaning your kitchen ensures you don’t have oil or flammable substances near your stove when you’re cooking, reducing the risk something will catch fire.
Your kitchen should have a working smoke detector to alert you to high smoke volumes. It would help if you also had a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. Fire extinguishers must be recharged and replaced over time, so it’s a good idea to add checking your fire extinguishers to your annual household maintenance list to ensure your extinguishers are ready in case you have a house fire.
Invest in home security.
Another way to keep your family safe involves preventing intruders from accessing your property. Security systems alert you and your security company when motion sensors are activated, ensuring you’re aware there’s someone near your home and enabling you to take appropriate steps to protect your family.
Security systems can connect to fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. In addition, security systems that connect to the internet can call the police or fire department, protecting your home when you’re away or asleep.
Building a safe home protects your family from accidental injuries. Focus on injury prevention in your bathroom and kitchen to prevent common injuries. You’ll also improve your home’s safety by installing smoke detectors and a home security system.