Everyone should prioritize their safety in everything they do, and this includes, possible surprisingly, any activities inside your home’s kitchen. The kitchen is one of the most dangerous areas in a household because of the variety of cooking equipment present there.
People cook in a kitchen and store different items, and various accidents can occur within it. To ensure the safety of everyone in the kitchen or those merely passing through, follow these five tips:
Keep the Pot Holders, Dish Towels, and Oven Mitts From the Stove
People cook on stoves which use gas to generate fire and placing flammable items in proximity to them invites disaster. Keep the cloths away from the stove to keep from starting a fire accident.
Set up appropriate storage spaces for your pot holders, towels, and mitts in the kitchen to keep them from catching fire. After use, put them away to their designated areas.
Should any of your flammable cooking equipment ever catch fire, including various cloth in the kitchen, it is advisable to have a fire extinguisher ready.
Store the knives and other cutting tools on a rack or a drawer
Keep your knives and other sharp tools from the children’s reach but don’t store them in uncomfortable places. The accessibility of your equipment to you should not present risks for younger people who happen to be passing by the kitchen or playing in it.
Using drawers that children can’t easily reach or open as storage is sufficient as long as it’s not high enough that you’ll also face difficulty reaching them. Having to extend your arms above you to retrieve your knives is dangerous as it introduces the risk of them falling on you and injuring you at least.
If you have a knife rack, use it while keeping them away from children.
Clean spills on the floor immediately
Slippery floors present hazards in any room, especially the kitchen, as slips can lead to bumps on the head. People holding sharp objects, pregnant women, elders, and children are in danger of getting severe injuries in areas with slippery floors.
Clean any spills and other items that can cause slips like wrappers to prevent any dangerous accidents caused by falls. Any toys left on the ground will need to be taken out as well.
Keep temperature-sensitive food from lingering on the kitchen table
Food tends to spoil when left outside the fridge for long periods, especially when it comes to meat, dairy, and fish. Once food spoils, it gives off a foul odor that can become a health risk when left alone for too long. Consuming it also jeopardizes your health, leading to other health issues.
Should there be any leftovers, put them back in the fridge before they go bad and become inedible.
Always have a list of emergency numbers at hand
Should accidents still occur, it is best to stay prepared and ready to call for assistance. Keep a list of contact numbers including those of the fire station, the hospital, and the emergency hotline. Posting them on the fridge with a sticky note lets you have easy access to them in case of an emergency.
Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean your safe from all hazards, especially your kitchen since it is already identified as containing plenty of risks. For more information on the kitchen safety tips mentioned above, see this infographic by Mr. Cabinet Care.
