Hints & tips
Summer Home Safety
Summer is a time when many of us enjoy the great outdoors, or think about getting on with those jobs outside which have been building up. Did you know that some common sense can avoid unnecessary accidents at home during the summer. By taking care of yourself and your equipment, you may be able to avoid unnecessary accidents and prevent having to make a claim on your home insurance.
Checklist of Home Safety Tips:
- Follow directions that come with equipment and other products - read the manuals!
- Learn to ask questions, e.g. when asking a salesperson for specific tips regarding the product.
- Assess the danger potential of an action before you take it.
- Don't hurry or rush.
Home Safety Tips - Water:
- Don't leave small children unattended around open water features such as garden ponds.
- Make sure swimming pools are covered when not in use, if you have small children.
- In landscaping around swimming pools, always put safety first.
- Install a pump in water features - it is important to keep the water moving, as mosquito larvae breed in standing water.
- Installing landscape lighting is advisable in general, but especially around water features, which present a particular danger at night.
- Roll up garden hoses properly after use, so they don't become tripping hazards.
Home Safety Tips - Rock and Cement:
- Use safety items for mixing cement; gloves, mask, safety goggles.
- Use safety items for moving heavy rocks; gloves, back brace, ball cart.
Home Safety Tips - Using Axes and Hatchets:
- Wear steel-toed boots, heavy gloves, tight-fitted clothing and safety glasses.
- Make sure the blade is sharp - dull blades are actually more dangerous than sharp blades.
- Chop so that the arc of your swing won't end up coming back in the direction of your body.
- It's best not to use axes and hatchets until someone who entirely understands what they're doing instructs you.
Home Safety Tips- Using Chain Saws and Hedgers:
- Maintain your balance and stay focused on what you're doing.
- Chain saws in particular can be incredibly dangerous devices.
- You should wear gloves, earplugs, safety glasses, steel-toed boots, tight-fitting clothing and a helmet when performing chainsaw work on large trees.
- Plant both feet firmly on the ground when cutting.
- Avoid making cuts while standing on a ladder.
- Be aware of your centre of gravity and don't over stretch.
- You shouldn't be raising the machine above shoulder level, as this could cause instability.
- Shut off the engine prior to removing branches stuck in the teeth of your machine.
- With chainsaws, always be conscious of the possibility of kickback.
Home Safety Tips- Operating Lawn Mowers:
- You should wear earplugs, goggles, footwear with good traction and tight-fitting clothing.
- Check the lawn first for objects that shouldn't be there, such as bottles and stones. Exercise similar caution when using lawn edgers. Propelled objects cause many lawn mower-related injuries!
- Check that lawn mower guards and shields are functional.
- Set wheel height prior to starting the engine.
- If you're using a bag attachment, turn the lawn mower off prior to removing or re-attaching the bag. But, when using mulching mowers, there's not much need in using a bag.
- In summer, mow in the evening for the sake of the grass, and so you don't get too hot. Mow the grass early enough that there's still plenty of light by which to see.
- Mow only when the grass is dry to reduce risk of injury through slipping.
- Very steep slopes are dangerous to mow. Consider an alternative to grass in these cases, such as growing ground covers.
- If you're truly concerned about lawn mower safety, the best lawn mowers to use are reel mowers, because they're human-powered. But reel mowers may not be the best option for those with large gardens.