Accidents happen every day. Luckily most of us can avoid them! The most common place for accidents to happen is in the home. On average in the UK, there are approximately 6,000 deaths in the home every year as a result of an accident. Some accidents are completely unavoidable and can take you by complete surprise. Yet, it’s arguable that a lot of them in the home could be prevented. This involves taking precautions in a variety of situations around the house. Prevention can be the most effective way to stop accidents happening in the home. This is especially important for anyone with children. We all know that sometimes children can get curious and get themselves into trouble. Don’t worry though, these methods of prevention are simple!
Store things away properly
When you have kids you start to realise that every day is an adventure for them. What could be more adventurous than having a look through cupboards, draws and boxes? Making sure that heavier items like pots and pans are stored lower down can help prevent a serious accident. This doesn’t just go for kids either, how many times have you had a close call with a pot that was ready to fall out of a cupboard?
Cleaning products should also be stored away safely. Things like dishwasher tablets or detergent should never be left unattended. Especially with kids in the house! Making sure that these items are stored out of reach of little hands could go a long way to help.
Practice kitchen safety
The kitchen can provide your family with plenty of happiness. Yet, if it isn’t managed properly, it could be very dangerous. There are plenty of small tips that can help to prevent accidents in the kitchen. One way is to make sure that a pot is never left unattended for an extended period of time. Whether it could be kids knocking the pot over or something catching fire, you should keep an eye on it. Another way to prevent a potential burn is by making sure the pot handle stays over the cooker. With the pot handle sticking out, anybody walking by young or old could potentially knock it over. On the point of pots, always remember that metal conducts heat really well. That means that if there are any pots with metal handles they will be red hot while cooking. Having a tea towel on hand is always a good idea.
It's important to practice the safe handling of knives. You can start by making sure your knives are sharp. Using a dull knife means that you have to apply more force to cut something up. If the knife was to slip it could result in a serious accident. Following on from this, once your knives are sharp they should be stored away properly.
One final thing to remember in the kitchen is to keep an eye on the little ones. If you’re busy making sure that everything for the dinner is going well it can be easy enough to let the kids out of your sight. This could be okay in a place like the sitting room or the garden. Yet in the kitchen, especially during meal preparation, there could be a lot of hazards.
Managing floors
This might sound like a bit of a strange one but making sure that any uneven or slippery floors in the house are taken care of can go a long way. Let’s take for example adding a rug into a room like the sitting room. Without an anti-slip underlay, a rug could be a potential spot for an accident in the house. Another thing to bear in mind is making sure that any areas that could get wet are dried quickly. A perfect example of this is the floor at the entrance to your home. On a wet day, this area could become wet, thus making the floor very slippery and a potential hazard.
Sorting out electrical issues
Our homes are now full of technology, from smartphones to smart TVs. Making sure all these things are powered can be a challenge in itself. There are a few important guidelines to remember though. The first is to make sure that you never overload your plugs. Using extensions on extensions might seem like an easier solution but it can be a serious hazard. Making sure plugs are spread out can mean that one power supply isn’t getting overloaded with demand.
One obvious step to prevent electrical accidents is by making sure that there are no frayed wires. This doesn’t just mean plugs, there are plenty of other cables and connections that can get worn away with use.
Another general tip to do with electrics is to make sure that you have the electrics in your home inspected. This can be important if you’ve only moved into the house. Incorrect wiring has the potential to cause fires in the home. Getting this kind of thing sorted sooner rather than later can go a long way.
Safety response
We all know that sometimes accidents can happen no matter what. That’s why having an alert system in place is important. This can be in the form of a smoke alarm, a fire extinguisher and a clear escape route out of the house. It may sound like a simple thing but having a clear escape route is just as important as an alarm. This essentially means making sure there are no large objects in your way. This lets your family get out of the house quickly in an emergency. It goes without saying as well that you should test these alarms to make sure that they are working.
Prepare for the future
As we’ve mentioned before, sometimes there is no possible way to avoid an accident. One of the ways you can prepare for something like this is by looking at getting life insurance. At Smart Insurance, we offer Family Life Insurance with a benefit ranging from 60,000 up to £750,000 - depending on your age. As long as you are a UK resident aged between 18-64 you can apply for this insurance policy. You’ll only have to answer a few health and lifestyle questions during the application process.
