The five most dangerous areas around your home are the bathtub, basement stairs, the kitchen, garage, and your attic. How dangerous these areas may be varies on different circumstances. Whether you are elderly, or have elderly citizens living in your home, if you have children, how accessible these areas are, and so forth. But you can easily make these areas of your home completely safe. Just read the following tips and procedures.
Bathtub: The bathtub is especially dangerous among the elderly. A slip can cause a broken bone, or head trauma. You may buy rubber mats for the bottom of your bathtub that give your feet a better grip to reduce the chance of a fall. Other options are installing a walk in shower, which will also reduce the wrist of a fall when you step into the shower. Another option is installing a bar in or outside of your shower to give you a firm grip as you are getting in. Recently on the market are showers and bathtubs with water tight doors so you can walk in without having to climb over the rim of the bathtub. This is perhaps one of the safest and most practical option to make your bathtub and shower safer.
Basement Stairs: Basement stairs are often steep, and this makes walking down them all the more dangerous, especially with curious and mischievous children. The best solution for this is a child-proof door handle cover. You have to hold them in a certain position to get them open which makes them ideal for keeping children from opening doors. Make sure the steps are sturdy and do not come loose. This could easily cause a fall. If your basement steps do not have railing it is a very good idea to build on in. Also, make sure there is good lighting in your basement so anyone walking down the stairs can see where they are going.
The Kitchen: Your kitchen is another place full of trouble for children. They could burn themselves on the stove, get into knives and many other things. If you do not have child-proof knobs on your stove it may be a good idea to look into. Be sure to have knives either in a child-proof drawer or in a block that is pushed to the back of the counter where they cannot reach it. You might also put child-proof tabs on your cabinets and drawers. Keep all cleaning products and alcohol out of reach of children as well.
Garage: Chances are your have your equipment for working on your car stored in your garage. It is of the utmost importance to keep this equipment stored properly. First keep everything neatly stored on shelves, smaller objects should be in clearly labeled containers. Be sure to keep lighters and matches separate from flammable substances such as oil, gasoline. Mechanical appliances should be kept out of reach of children, as well as any harsh chemicals or gases.
Attic: Attics are more dangerous in older houses. It is a good idea to give these an inspection every few years. The floors or beams could be rotting causing harm to anyone who walks in, as well as danger to your home. If the floor is not sturdy and heavy objects are sitting on them for a long period of time, your walls could start to sag or the objects could fall through.