What Is Home Safety – Risks And Tips

DIY Security Systems

Your home is regarded to be a place where you and your family should feel safe and protected. But no matter how you feel secure in your own home, dangers lurk around the corner. A wide range of accidents such as slipping, getting electrocuted, poisoning, accidental burns, and falling down the stairs could happen to you or your family at any time. Fortunately, being knowledgeable of household hazards and taking some home safety precautions can guarantee you a home, sweet home indeed. To know more about what is home safety, its risks, and easy-to-follow home safety tips, read on this article.

What is Home Safety?

Many of you ask what is home safety and why is it important in your life. Basically, home safety refers to your awareness and knowledge of risks and possible dangers in and around your home, which may cause physical harm, severe injury, or even loss of life to people living in and around the structure of your home. Home safety involves taking time to inspect your environment and mitigate these common risks and unwanted hazards.

In America alone, home accidents claim about 18,000 lives per year. Annual medical visits also reached $21 million a year, which totals to a staggering $220 billion a year.

Common Home Safety Risks

• Falls – Fall injury is one of the most common hazards in the household. Slippery stairs, wet floors, and scattered toys can all lead to a potential fall. 
• Fires – Even candles or a neglected iron can lead to an unexpected fire in your home, but there are ways you can do to prevent a fire from getting out of hand. 
• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – Low exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) can only cause mild headaches or dizziness, while high-level exposure can lead to vomiting, impaired vision, and even death. It is virtually impossible to detect carbon monoxide by smell, sight, or even sound, which makes it even more difficult to detect. 
• Choking – From a part of dinner going down the wrong way to a child accidentally swallowing something, choking is scary. Instruct yourself about choking risks and take precautions to keep your family safe. 
• Cuts – This one appears like a no-brainer, but sadly, there are several common items with sharp edges that are used in your home. Everything from a can to a garden hoe can manifest danger. 
• Poisoning – Various household items display poisoning dangers, including home cleaning and maintenance supplies. However, a little perseverance and the right know-how can reduce the risk of anyone in your family. 
• Strangling – Cords on the window like blinds or curtains present a risk to small children and even infants. 
• Drowning – Drowning is not only a hazard outdoors. In the past decade, deaths from drowning in a bathtub have increased by 70%. 
• Burns – Burns may not look like a common household danger, but both dishwashers and stoves can cause them. These handy appliances pose risks, especially for small children.

Home Safety Tips

Because we live in the comfort and security of our own home, we easily forget that we still exist among potential hazards. Fortunately, these tips will help you determine the importance of what is home safety. These home safety tips will let you evaluate and examine the hidden dangers that may be sneaking in your home, so you can take precautionary actions and live comfortably.

• Don’t ignore safety housekeeping. When we say safety housekeeping, it means to keep minor safety hazards or risks at bay by following essential safety practices.
• Maintain sufficient home security. Perhaps one of the most significant safety hazards in homeownership is a possible security threat. These can be floods, fires, loss of power, invasion, or more serious. To avoid a potentially tragic event, you should know what is home safety and maintain sufficient home protection by having a security alarm and locking system at your home.
• Always have in mind home fire safety. Fires can be remarkably devastating if not life-threatening. While it’s challenging to live comfortably and conveniently while having eliminated all fire threats, you can take steps to ensure that high-risk home items are eliminated of potential risk.
• Beware of electrical risks. While extremely convenient, electricity can also be a safety hazard if not appropriately maintained. Replace all damaged wires and cords, and discard old or faulty appliances.
• Practice proper food safety at all times. Food safety is not always common sense, and injuries in the kitchen or food-borne illness are very real.
• Always be ready with the necessities. You should have all emergency response items in an easy-to-access location at home. These include first aid kits, common ailments medicines, inhalers, and contact numbers of hospitals, doctors, and other emergency response services.
• Promote safety habits. Sure, it’s easy for someone to walk around the house every so often and reduce potential safety hazards. Maintaining safety at home starts by encouraging and promoting the practice of safe habits. Talk to your family members about it and teach your children that safety is a crucial practice.