Many accidents that occur at home range from the disastrous fires to the slips on the stairs, are actually easily preventable. Ensuring that your property is safe begins with identifying accident-prone areas. Avoid accidents in your home by watching out for the following areas:
1.The floors
Many public places know how to place slippery floor signs but we do not accord the same to our homes. It is easy to have an accident due to slippery floors even in your own home. Ensure that you clean the tiled or marble floors when there is little traffic in the house. It is very unwise to perform your cleaning with children or even guests in the room. If possible, once you finish cleaning a room, ensure you close the doors until it dries to avoid people getting into the room unnecessarily and falling in the process.
Another likely scenario is after polishing your floors. Ensure you use non-skid wax when waxing. When the polish or wax is still fresh, ensure there are flip-flops at entry points to be used in the house. Do not place the old worn out ones but some that have good treads.
2.Chimney and furnace
Fires top the list in home accidents and they claim many lives each year. Looking at your home, it may seem improbable that a fire would occur, but the signs are all around you. Begin with the chimney and furnace. Ensure it is cleared of soot regularly. High amounts of soot are highly flammable and a small spark from the fire beneath left to warm the house at night may set your whole house on fire.
In addition, ensure your smoke alarms are in good condition. It makes little sense to have a smoke detector in your home that does not work. Have at least two smoke detectors in each floor.
The next cause of fire in your home is the electrical system. If connecting one appliance causes a reaction in another or the light bulbs seem to flicker, it shows there is a problem with your electrical system. Do not wait for the situation to worsen and cause a fire. Get your house checked by a professional at once.
3.The kitchen
The kitchen without doubt holds the most scenarios in which an accident in your home can occur. From boiling water, to the heater, the steaming food, and the oven, the list is endless as to how an accident can occur in your kitchen. It is therefore important to ensure that you place the highest level of safety measures in the kitchen.
Separate the area where your children can sit to eat and where the actual cooking takes place to avoid collisions. Warning them against running around is not enough. Make it hard for them to encounter the cooker and other hot appliances. Ensure stovetops are high enough and any coking appliance sits on a firm top.
4.The bathroom suite
The slippery nature of the bathroom creates numerous scenarios for slip and falls. Ensure you lace adequate non-slip mats such that one can get into the shower and out of it safely without stepping on the slippery floor. Place traction mats on the shower suite floor and even in the tub.
In children’s bathroom, these measures should be enhanced since they love running around and playing in the shower. Prevent all possible accidents in the shower by also having a well-lit bath area. This ensures that they will not hit themselves on objects or counter tops because they could not see where they were going properly.
Avoid leaving your children in the bathtub for too long to avoid a drowning incident. Do not teach them to fill the tub with a lot of water. Once they see that each time you prepare their bath with a tub half-full of water they will learn to do the same. You should also avoid filling your own tub with water to the brim. You may get too relaxed and drown whilst sleeping in the tub!
5.The stairs
The stairs have more than once caused many to fall in their own homes. Ensure your stairs have a strong railing that one can hold on to as they climb up or down. Stairs without the railing may be fashionable but they are not safe. Get a good designer to install a strong yet stylish railing for your home.
