Window blinds cords pose a strangulation hazard and should be out of reach of children.
According to WebMD, the top cause of home injuries including death is falls. Poisonings and fires take second and third place. By taking steps to make your home safer from these common mishaps, you can lower the risk of accidents. Take a walk around your home with a critical eye and make a list of any safety problems that need attention. Most dangers can be remedied simply and inexpensively. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Falls
1. Remove throw rugs and get rid of them. If you don't want to remove them, use double-sided carpet tape to secure them to the floor.
2. Inspect indoor and outdoor stairways. Don't store items on the stairway or otherwise clutter it up. Check the lighting in stairwells, light switches at the top and bottom ensure proper lighting. Stairs should also have sturdy handrails.
3. Keep night lights on in bedrooms, bathrooms and hallways. Put rubber mats in the tub and shower. Install window guards on all upper story windows and check to see that they have a quick-release mechanism in the event of fire.
Poisoning
4. Take note of any products that could cause poisoning in your home, including vitamins with iron, cosmetics and cleaning supplies. To prevent accidental poisoning, store toxic items in high or locked cabinets, not under the kitchen sink. Keep all products in their original containers. In the store, look for and purchase items with childproof caps.
5. Measure medicine with a medicine spoon, not a kitchen spoon. Put away medicine immediately after use. Clean out and dispose of old medicines. Crush or dissolve them, then add them to something unappealing like coffee grounds and seal them in a locked garbage bin.
6. Hire a professional to come once a year to check furnaces and stoves for problems that could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Purchase carbon monoxide detectors and use them according to package instructions.
Fire
7. Purchase a fire extinguisher and check the rating. An extinguisher rated ABC is good for home use. Mount it on a wall in the kitchen area near an exit. Once a year, inspect the extinguisher for wear and check the pressure gauge.
8. Install smoke detectors outside every bedroom, in stairwells and on every level of the home -- don't forget the basement. Check the batteries monthly and change them once a year.
9. Pay attention and stay near the stove when cooking. Turn the pot handles in and have potholders nearby. Don't wear long flowing sleeves to cook and roll up loose sleeves.
10. Practice fire drills, so everyone in the family knows escape. Choose one area, away from the house to meet in the event of fire. Once outside, don't return to a burning house. Call the fire department from the home of a neighbor.
