For most, home is a source of comfort, that one special place where we feel safe and protected from outside dangers. And yet, did you know that you’re more likely to be injured inside your own home than any other place on the planet? In fact, an average of 21 million annual medical visits in the United States is due to unintentional injuries that occur in the home.
The good news is that many of them can be prevented by following a few important safety precautions like these:
- Develop a fire escape plan, outlining two exits out of every room and establishing a safe meeting place for your family. Have safety drills twice a year.
- Keep a well-stocked first aid kit in your home and replace necessary items as needed.
- Equip your home with smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and a small fire extinguisher. Learn how to use it before you ever need it and remember to have it refilled after use.
- Use safety brackets to straps to secure bookcases, tall dressers, and other large heavy items to the wall.
- Program the poison control hotline number, local police number (for non-emergency situations), and family physician phone numbers into every phone you own.
- Help prevent drowning by never leaving a child in the bathtub unattended, and install locks on all toilets in the home.
- Keep poisonous and dangerous substances such as cleaning supplies and medications locked and out of reach of children.
- Replace all standard electrical outlets near wet areas such as sinks and tubs with the safer GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets.
- Use LED night lights to light hallways, bathrooms, and bedrooms at night.
- Install grab bars in bathtubs and showers and keep your water heater set to a maximum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
To help make your home an even safer living environment, contact DiBiase Heating & Cooling for our annual AC tune-up and inspection, during which we take several important health and safety steps, including checking for mold and mildew and tightening all electrical connections to help prevent electrical fires. Our tune-up and inspection can also help save money on repairs and your utility costs, so act now and call us at (610) 285-1813 for service.