Home Safety Home And Garden Safety Tips

Home Safety Home And Garden Safety Tips

Home safety should be your chief concern. Having a magnificent home and a beautiful landscape pales in comparison to the safety of your family. You can have both, but safety should be your first goal in all home and garden activities. We thought we would offer some home and garden safety tips for your home safety program.

Home safety personal protective equipment

When working around the home and garden always use the appropriate personal protective equipment. At the very least, wear long sleeves, long pants, a cap, boots, a dust mask, gloves, and eye protection.

These simple home safety precautions apply to almost all lawn and garden work, and activities with most power equipment, and striking tools.

Fertilizer application safety tips

For applying fertilizer, the listed equipment will serve well for protecting your skin, eyes, and lungs from fertilizer particles. Fertilizers contain minerals which are considered safe, but nonetheless, are damaging to mucous membranes, sinus, and lung tissues.

Chemical application safety tips

The same is true when applying chemicals, whether dusts, granules, or sprays. Read the label on anything you use and follow the directions exactly. They are there for a reason, and that reason is your safety, and the safety of others.

Home safety: Tools and equipment safety

Outdoor power equipment safety tips

When mowing and trimming, I recommend the use of the same protective gear. Organic matter like small particles of plants, dusts, pollen, mold spores, and other “fines” can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory system as much as fertilizers and chemicals. High speed equipment can sling small objects that can damage the eyes, and accidents with blades can severe hands and feet. Ear plugs should be added to the list when using power equipment.

Safety tips switches and guards

Power equipment safety switches and guards should be working properly, or the equipment should be taken out of service until the appropriate repairs are made.

Ladder safety tips

When using ladders, make sure that they are on a firm level footing, and secure. Do not place a ladder at an angle that places it too close to Parnell with the wall. Your weight at the top can make the ladder unstable. Step ladders usually have warnings on the rungs telling you to avoid stepping on or above the top wrung, or the top of the ladder. The warning is there for a reason. Follow their advice.

Hand tool home safety tips

When using hand tools, make sure the head is secure on any striking tools like hammers and axes.

Sharpen blades on cutting tools. A dull tool may appear less dangerous, but a dull tool requires more strength and energy, and when extra force is needed, control is lost. Sharp tools are more safe than dull tools.

Home safety: Storage

Store all tools and fuels and chemicals in a safe manner. Don’t store hazardous materials or fuel in your garage. There are too many things that can go wrong, and if they go wrong in an attached garage, they go wrong for the entire house! There are options, like building a garage separate from the home, or storing hazardous materials in a separate storage building. Make sure that the doors are properly locked to prevent accidents involving children. see also: Home hazardous material storage for more details.

Storing your tools safely is important for keeping your hand tools in good working order. Hand tools can fall prey to corrosion and moisture related problems which can render them unsafe. For more on this subject, see: Hand Tool Care And Hand Tool Safety

Home safety on or near the water

When working from a boat, a dock, or other areas on or near the water, wear a life jacket. You may be an Olympic swimmer, but even world class swimmers can be knocked unconscious before, or during a fall. A life preserver can preserve your life in such circumstances. Try not to work alone in such circumstances if at all possible.

There are many other home safety issues to address, we have listed a few of the most common, and most commonly ignored. If you have some home safety tips that you would like to share, feel free to do so in our comment section on this page.

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