Our homes are our castle and precious place where we rest after a long day of work. Therefore, we should ensure they are safe from any hazards and have peace when there. The first step in preventing hazards in our homes is being aware of them. Allergies, poisoning, and fire are some common home hazards. We can also be exposed to risks due to other home contents, including burns and falls. That is why we should conduct risk assessments at our homes to enhance safety. This article will explain some of the common home safety hazards.
FIRE
Our homes are susceptible to fire because of things we interact with, including cooking appliances and electrical gadgets. A fire outbreak can hugely affect you and your housemates as well as your properties.You can improve your home safety by conducting fireriskassessment to identify the risks of fire breaking out in your home and develop ways to reduce those dangers.
When building a house, ensure your engineers are keen on how it is built. It should be built it in a manner that reduces the risk of fire spreading faster in case of an occurrence. Ensure to place fire doors, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers. You are also responsible for reducing fire danger by being careful with your actions when at home.
- Be attentive when cooking. You should never leave cooking unattended.
- Inspecting chimneys. The fire chimneys should be regularly inspected to ensure they are functioning properly.
- Reduce flammable clutter like papers and boxes.
- Assess electrical systems often and seek the help of an electrician in case of a fault.
It would also be wise to have fire insurance for your home to ensure it is protected in case of an occurrence. Accidents happen even after taking all precautions, so it is better to be safe.
Poisoning
Children are prone to poisoning at home due to the presence of certain home usage supplies like cleaning detergents, medicines, and petro, among others. Keeping these things close to children poses a poisoning risk. They should be locked or kept out of reach of children to reduce the possibility of them being accidentally ingested. Carbon monoxide poisoning is also common in homes due to the usage of appliances like gas. Reduce the risk by installing a carbon monoxide detector.
Water
Water-related hazards such as pools and bathtubs present the risk of drowning if they are not well fences or secured. Although water can be hazardous to everyone, young children are mostly affected. A toddler can drown within few seconds; thus it is important to fence or put a barrier around water areas. You should also monitor young children when they are around water all the time.
Allergies
Some people are allergic to mold. Mold grows after water has condensed on surfaces such as windows and walls. Sneezing, headaches, and itchy eyes are some ways allergies manifest. To prevent mold growth, get rid of condensation from your house surfaces and keep ventilations clear.
Let us be aware of home hazards and know how to minimize the risk of their occurrence for our safety. We can reduce fire risk by being careful around fire appliances like electrical and cooking items. Having fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and emergency exit doors is also wise. To improve home safety, we should avoid the risk of poisoning and water drowning. We also need to be careful about other home hazards caused by contents, such as falls, choking, cuts, and burns.