Safety Tips for the Home
Prevent Falls
Keep all stairways and halls well lit. Keep these areas free from clutter as well. Consider using night lights in hallways, stairways, and bathrooms.
Install grab bars in your shower to hold on to and a non-slip mat or have adhesive safety strips or decals inside bathtubs and showers.
Use rug-liners with all bath mats and rugs or make sure they have a non-skid back.
Keep all cords to lamps and other electrical products out of the flow of traffic to prevent any tripping.
Use ladders or step stools to reach things up high. Climbing up on wobbly things is dangerous and most likely falls will occur.
Get into a routine of performing exercises often to help improve balance and strength and increase stability when walking.
General Child Safety
If there are any electrical outlets in your home that are not being used place electrical outlet safety plugs into them.
Keep drapery and blind cords tied up and out of children’s reach. Kids can get tangled up in the cords and choking could occur.
If you have toddlers install safety gates at the bottom and top of any stairs.
Do not hang pictures, quilts or decorations with ribbon or string on or over a crib. They could fall and harm or suffocate the child.
As soon as your child is old enough, have them memorize 9-1-1 and your street address and phone number.
Childproof all medicine cabinets as well as kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Keep the cords to all kitchen appliances out of the reach of children.
Keep your yard and gardening products inside of a locked cabinet so that young children can’t get to them.
Never leave a small child unattended in the bathtub. It only takes a second for a child to drown.
Keep all the lids to toilets closed. Smaller children can lean too far into a toilet and fall in and drown. Little fingers can get slammed and mashed if a toilet seat crashes down on them. Children also have a tendency to put things in the toilet and this could cause plumbing problems.
If your home has a swimming pool, never leave a child unattended for any reason. Install either a four sided fence that surrounds the entire pool or a gate which closes by itself. Don’t forget that spas and whirlpools can also cause injuries and drowning, especially for little children. Don’t forget to seal off doggy doors and alarm all windows and doors leading to the pool area. Keep a cordless, water resistant phone in the pool area with emergency numbers posted nearby.
Empty large buckets of water and wading pools after you use them. Keep them turned upside down when you’re not using them.
Fires and Natural Disaster Safety
Make plans with each family member on what to do and where to go if and when severe weather approaches. Keep an emergency supply kit on hand with batteries, flashlights, weather radio, blankets and non-perishable food items. Also buy, or put together, an emergency first aid kit. Make sure everyone in your household knows where you keep the emergency supply and first aid kits.
Place smoke alarms throughout your home and set a regular schedule to check the batteries to keep the smoke alarm working properly.
If you have young children, store all matches and lighters in a locked cabinet.
Keep curtains away from portable heating units and try to buy curtains and window treatments that are made from flame resistant material.
When you are cooking on the kitchen stove turn the handles of pots and pans in towards the stove to prevent them from getting knocked off or grabbed by a child and causing burns. Never leave the kitchen area when you are cooking something on the stove. Even if there are no small children around, you could become distracted by another activity and food could boil over or flame up and pose a potential hazard.
Keep fire extinguishers in your home and keep them in a spot where you know where they are. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home and near every sleeping area. Be sure to practice a home fire escape plan at least twice a year so everyone in your family knows at least two exits out of every room and is aware of the designated meeting place for all family member to meet outside in case of a fire.
General Home Safety and Security
Install lighting at both the front and back entrances to your home. This can help deter thieves and light pathways for safety while walking outside at night.
Install deadbolt locks on all doors. Deadbolts locks are harder for thieves to break open.
Install security cameras both inside and outside your home.
If you are working inside a garage make sure there is adequate ventilation to prevent the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Always pull the car out of the garage after starting it to prevent a buildup of carbon monoxide exhaust fumes.
Install a UL-listed carbon monoxide (CO) alarm in the hallway near bedrooms.
Always wear protective shoes and safety glasses when mowing the lawn or using any type of yard and gardening maintenance equipment.
Post the National Poison Control Hotline number (1-800-222-1222) along with other emergency numbers next to every phone in your home, or in a central location that all family members are aware of.
Keep all products that can burn your skin such as oven cleaners and rust remover, as well as all potential poisons, in their original and labeled containers.
Always open flues before using your fireplace and make sure they are clean and clear of debris and bird nests.
Destroy all unknown medicines or medicines that have are past the expiration date. Keep all medicines in their original containers with the original labels.
Keep your water heater set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less to prevent burns on your skin.
For more information about home safety go online and visit homesafetycouncil.org.
