TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2011
When you think of summer, home safety may not be the first thing on your mind. Summer is the time for outdoor cookouts, pool parties, and backyard play dates; not a time for bandaging scrapes, nursing burns or worse. Small, innocent mishaps and mistakes are sometimes the source of many unwanted and accidental disasters. You might discover that by tweaking a few things around the house you can make this a summer to remember for all the right reasons.
Backyard Safety:
- Inspect outdoor decorative lights carefully: Some families add backyard ambience with outdoor decorative lighting. Do not connect more than three midget light string sets together. Light strings with screw-in bulbs should have a maximum of 50 bulbs connected together. Be sure to use light strings bearing the UL Mark, which means UL has tested samples of the product for risk of fire, electric shock and other hazards.
- Use only GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets outdoors. Test them monthly by following these instructions.
- Replace power cords that are frayed or damaged.
- Pick up all garden tools such as rakes, spades, forks, pruning clippers, files and metal plant stakes when not in use.
- Read the labels of things you use for your lawn and garden. If you see the words Caution, Warning, Danger, Poison, or Keep Out of Reach of Children; these products can be dangerous for children. Store them in a place with a lock.
- Taking away those humid days, the summer season also means one of the driest seasons of the year. If there's no water to moisten things up, then there's an absolute risk of fire for just about anything in your home.
- Carefully inspect backyard playground equipment: According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 70 percent of all playground-related deaths occur on home playground equipment. Make sure equipment is anchored safely in the ground, all equipment pieces are in good working order, S-hooks are entirely closed and bolts are not protruding.
Swimming:
- Stay with your kids while they're at a pool, even if they can swim. Supervise constantly: Good supervision means you are able to scan the pool area every 20 seconds and be able to reach the pool in 10 seconds.
- Enclose your pool with a fence that's at least 4 feet high with a self-closing, self-locking gate that has a locking mechanism beyond a child's reach. Also cut overhanging tree limbs and remove chairs or ladders from the pool area to prevent children and unauthorized individuals from climbing over the fence surrounding the pool.
- Make sure there is rescue equipment around the pool. At a minimum, keep safety equipment like a life preserver and shepherds hook (a long pole with a hook on the end) nearby for emergencies.
- Completely remove pool covers when anyone is in the pool. Extreme care should be taken to prevent children from climbing on top of the cover or getting caught underneath. Check the cover often and remove water that accumulates on top; make sure the cover is properly anchored and tied down.
- Make sure all electrical appliances are kept away from the pool and use ground-fault-circuit-interrupter (GFCI) outlets at outside receptacles.
- Empty small wading pools and remove all toys after children are through playing: Infants can drown in just a few inches of water. Floats, balls, and other toys may attract children to the pool when it is unattended.
- Always check the pool first if a child is missing: Child drowning is often a silent death that alerts no one with splashes or yells for help. Many drowning accidents happen when children have been missing for less than five minutes.
Grilling:
- Keep grills at least 10 feet from any structure: Grilling mishaps cause more than 8,300 fires and send 3,000 people to the emergency room each year.
- Only use grills outdoors. Never grill indoors or near garages or porches, even if it's raining. Carbon monoxide builds up quickly in enclosed spaces.
- Have a spray bottle or fire extinguisher handy: An unexpected flare up can burn more than your burgers. Use a spray bottle to avoid flare ups and have a fire extinguisher nearby. Also, coals get hot - in some cases up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit; so dispose of charcoal away from kids and pets and cool it down with a hose.
- Keep grills away from other outdoor activities to prevent burns.
- Never use gasoline or kerosene to light a charcoal fire: Both can cause an explosion. Don't pour starter fluid in a gas grill or an already-lit charcoal grill.
- When grilling, use insulated, flame-retardant mitts, and long-handled barbeque tongs and utensils to handle food and coals.
- Check your gas grill for leaks. Your local propane gas supplier can suggest a leak-detection solution.
- Check gas grill hoses for cracking, brittleness, holes and leaks: If the tank valve or grill needs repair, do not attempt to do it yourself. Take it to your local home improvement store or qualified appliance repair person.
Landscaping:
- Wear sturdy shoes and fitted clothing while mowing the lawn to keep your feet and skin protected, and turn off your mower before removing a stuck object. Never reach under the mower unless it is turned off and the blade has completely stopped turning.
- Before you mow, check the area for broken sticks, stones, toys and anything else that could shoot out from under the mower or damage the blade.
- Keep children and pets inside the house or well away from the area while mowing or using lawn equipment.
- Wear goggles and hearing protection.
- Unless power tools are marked "submersible", don't get them wet.
- If you run out of gas, stop and let the engine cool down before you add more. Gasoline vapors can easily catch on fire.
Don't let your summer days be ruined by simple things that are left unchecked. The result will be a safer, more enjoyable summer for you and your family.
By Matt Reynolds - Google+
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