Many people might use the extended daylight hours of the summer as a reason to get some long overdue repair work completed around the house. And with kids out of school, parents might even wrangle their teens into helping them with the work. However, it’s imperative that any do-it-yourself projects taking place around the home be approached in the safest manner possible.
A new report offers some safety tips for citizens embarking on a home improvement project, and it starts with understanding just how serious the threat really is. 45% of the 3.5 million upper limb injuries which are thought to occur every year are incurred in the home, according to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. 23% of those are lacerations, serious cuts that typically require prompt emergency intervention.
A reconstructive surgeon relates an incident which found a firefighter coming in for emergency surgery when he sustained a wrist laceration after falling backwards while holding a large electrical tool. The doctor stated that it was only through complex microsurgery that the damage was able to be repaired, and the injured individual acknowledged that he let his experience with prior projects dictate a lack of proper safety precautions.
Don’t ever make that mistake, no matter how handy you are. Whether new to home improvement or well-versed in the subject, anyone engaged with work needs to take a few precautions every time.
First, you must make sure you have the proper equipment on hand. This requires preparation; one shouldn’t approach any project with a ‘wing it’ attitude. Have a plan in place from the outset and organize your tools in a manner that allows you to reach each of them one at a time in the order that they’re needed.
These tools should be in such a condition that they won’t pose a danger through their mere use. This is especially important to take into consideration if your tools are rather dated. New safety mechanisms may are regularly introduced into the market in order to eliminate certain dangers. Thus, if you have an old or worn piece of equipment, you might drop in to a local hardware store and verify the tool’s safety with an expert.
Someone besides yourself should know the work that’s being done. Enlist a family member or even a neighbor to drop in occasionally to make sure you’re doing alright. And before you start, you ought to place first aid equipment nearby. Have a phone in your pocket or on a workbench that you can use should an injury take place.
Finally, use tools for what they’re supposed to be used for. Whenever you go beyond the suggested directions for use, you place yourself in danger.