Make Your Home Safer: Room-by-Room

Make Your Home Safer: Room-by-Room

OCTOBER 28, 2008 - A new survey by the national nonprofit Home Safety Council reveals that most U.S. adults rank the kitchen, bathroom and stairway/hallway as the most dangerous rooms of the home. Although the majority of adults consider these rooms the most dangerous,

nearly half (45 percent) admit they have not taken action to make any room of their home safer.

Every family is at risk for the leading causes of home injury: falls, poisoning, fires/burns, choking/suffocation and drowning. In fact, Home Safety Council research shows that home injuries result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. To curb this staggering loss, the Home Safety Council is encouraging families to tackle safety dangers room-by-room by providing the simple steps they can follow to protect against injuries throughout the entire home.

The Home Safety Council's new online safety destination - www.MySafeHome.org - is a great place to start. This innovative Web site is accessible at no cost to users. With 3D graphics and animation, MySafeHome.org helps users identify major risk areas indoors and out and presents the key safety tips and preparedness plans that every safe home should have.

"Making your home a safer place is an easy and inexpensive task that can save the lives of your loved ones," said Meri-K Appy, Home Safety Council president. "Evaluating the safety of your home as a whole may seem overwhelming. So we encourage families to start with simple steps to find and fix dangers one room at a time. Taking a room-by-room approach to home safety is manageable, efficient, and helps ensure the safety of your entire family."

Home Safety Tips: Room-by-Room

Stay by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food.

Follow these simple steps in each room of the home to protect your family from the leading  causes of home injury.

Kitchen Safety

* Stay by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food.

* Lock poisons, cleaners, medications and all dangerous items in a place where children can't reach them.

Use grab bars and non-slip mats or strips in baths and showers.

Bathroom Safety

 * Stay within an arm's length of children in and around water. This includes bathtubs, toilets, pools and spas - even buckets of water.

 * Use grab bars and non-slip mats or strips in baths and showers.

* Keep your hot water heater set to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bedroom Safety

Clip the loops in window cords and place them up high where children can't get them.

* Have working smoke alarms and hold fire drills. If you build a new home, install fire sprinklers.

* Clip the loops in window cords and place them up high where children can't get them.

Garage Safety

* Gasoline, anti-freeze, pesticides and fertilizer are poisonous. Keep these items locked up and out of the reach of children.

* Keep floors and steps clear of clutter and immediately clean up grease and spills.

Backyard Safety

* Make sure your children always swim with a grownup. No child or adult should swim alone.

Make sure your children always swim with a grownup. No child or adult should swim alone.

* Use a sturdy ladder when climbing and place it on level ground.

* Cover areas under and around play equipment with soft materials. Beware of entrapment hazards.

For an interactive home safety experience, visit www.MySafeHome.org.  
For more tips and tools to make your home safer, visit www.homesafetycouncil.org.  

Have working smoke alarms and hold fire drills.

 

 

Gasoline, anti-freeze, pesticides and fertilizer are poisonous. Keep these items locked up and out of the reach of children.

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Home Safety Council