Garage Safety Checklist
Posted in Garage on October 9th, 2010 by Jim – Comments OffIf you think about what often sends people to the doctor or hospitals for injuries, it is typically from household accidents. Each year, close to 21 million have medical visits or some kind because of an incident that occurred around the house. Of those 21 million incidents, a little over 5 million are as a result of a non-fatal fall. While many people typically think of accidents that occur in the home, there are also thousands of accidents that occur in the garage as well. Although it is an area where many people spend very little time in, there are actually quite a few dangers associated with a garage, especially if you are not utilizing the proper garage storage solutions to help keep organized.
If you are not currently organized in the garage, there is no better time to start then now. It is something that can be easily done in a weekend and it helps you get more organized, it will give you a cleaner space and it will provide a much safer environment for your family. Here is a look at some items to have on your checklist to make sure that several of the more important things are done in the correct way.
1. Tall items should be anchored to the wall – if you have garage cabinets or garage shelving with four or five different levels, make sure they are anchored to the wall in some way so you don’t have to worry about them tipping over and harming someone.
2. Sharp items should be stored away – if you are using some type of wall system, make sure the sharp points or edges are facing up where children cannot reach them and cut themselves.
3. Ladders should be stored horizontally – this may be hard to do depending on the size and space of your garage, but putting them horizontal instead of vertical means you don’t have to worro about them falling over. It also keeps those curious kids from trying to climb them if you have them stored in an upright position.
4. Lighten the load on the shelves – there is always a weight limit to shelving so make sure it is being followed. All of the heavy items don’t automatically go there. You have to balance out the unit to make sure it can handle the entire load. Otherwise you run the risk of bowing the shelves or having it collapse.
5. Liquids should be out of sight – people tend to store a lot of liquids in the garage from gasoline, paint thinners, old paint cans, automotive liquids and more. Keep these out of reach of the children and out of sight where they are not tempted to play with them. Garage cabinets work good for storing these, especially if you find some with locks or latches so you can be sure they are properly secured.