4 Safety Mistakes You're Making at Home Right Now
You keep your home well maintained and in good order. This provides a feeling of safety, but that feeling may be misplaced with some of the most common health-related hazards close at hand. Here are a few safety mistakes you may not even be aware you're making, and how to remedy them.
1. Not Preparing for Disasters
Regardless of where you live in the United States, disasters happen. Along the southeast, hurricanes play havoc on homes, property, and people. In the middle of the country, cyclones and massive tornadoes do plenty of damage. Along the west coast, earthquakes are an issue. In the north, excessive snow storms and melting ice create numerous issues for residents. Across the country as a whole there are also floods, rock slides, raging fires, and heavy rain, wind, and dangerous lightning.
All of these disasters can lead to power outages, which means no lights, no operable gas stations, and no working ATM machines. You're left with candles, flashlights, and, hopefully, stocked cabinets of canned goods because the food in the fridge isn't going to last for what can be many days without electricity.
To be prepared for any type of disaster, here are the basic items you need to have at hand:
- Flameless candles and batteries
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- Oil lamps with extra oil and wicks
- Manual can opener
- First aid kit with extra items including gauze, antiseptic cream, alcohol, etc.
- Bug repellent, which comes in handy if you're in a situation where standing water attracts mosquitoes
- Enough fresh water for everyone in the home for a minimum of seven days
- Enough canned food for at least a week including canned meat, crackers, dried fruit, granola bars, juice packets, or anything that does not require refrigeration
- Supplies for pets including dry and canned food, litter, and their own water supply
- A small pet carrier, collar, and leash
- Extra garbage bags, paper towels, hand wipes, and toilet paper
- Paper plates, cups, bowls, and plastic utensils
- Barbecue grill with all the essentials and a pot to boil water
- Extra cash
- Extra perscriptions and medication for at least a week
- A large tarp
- Extra cell phone chargers
- Battery-operated radio
- Ready-to-go bag packed with extra clothing and shoes, personal hygiene items and a blanket, in case you need to evacuate to a shelter
2. Removing Batteries from Smoke Detectors
Yes, they can be annoying when they go off for no apparent reason, but that's no excuse for removing the batteries. Smoke detectors can save lives. Just keep in mind that the one time it's sending out an alarm may be for a real life-threatening situation. Keep them active, test them monthly, and change the batteries at least two times a year.
3. Not Keeping Meat Cool
An easy food safety mistake to make is leaving meat to marinate on the kitchen counter. Many people don't give this a second thought. According to FoodSafety.gov, room temperature is the ideal setting for the growth of dangerous bacteria. Place seafood or meat in the refrigerator from the get-go.
4. Forgetting that a Candle Is Burning
The glow of a burning candle is useful in many situations such as power outages, patio cookouts, special events, or setting the tone for a relaxing evening. However, according to the National Fire Protection Association, candles are responsible for 900 injuries and 100 deaths yearly. If you must use them, keep them away from any flammable material by at least 12 inches. Keep children and animals away from candles to avoid accidents. Always blow out the flame when leaving the room, and never go to bed with a candle burning. Accidents happen. To avoid them entirely, use battery-operated flameless candles.
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![Robert Ferguson]()
From minor home repairs to complete remodels, Robert Ferguson has done it all. Robert’s career as a residential contractor has spanned more than 40 years. Robert is now semi-retired. His career provided him with the experience to work on, and complete, home remodeling, repair, and renovation projects. In 2000, Robert began writing as a way to share his knowledge of the residential home improvement industry. Robert has since written for major branded sites such as Skyword, Pink Plumber, Modernize, DIY guru Bob Vila’s website, Family Handyman, Workbench Life, Owners, Dremel, Skil, and Craftsman. Robert wants to share his knowledge to empower DIY enthusiasts with the expert guidance and educational tools they need in order to take on big or small projects safely with confidence and ease.  He has written about everything from auto repair to zoning restrictions to masonry tools for DoItYourself.com. In his spare time, Robert enjoys Florida beaches, boating, fishing, biking, travel, and gardening.  Next on Robert’s list? Become scuba certified. Robert is also the owner and main contributor to the menshouldpause.com website, which is currently under construction.![H.R. Helm]()
H.R. Helm is an accomplished DIY craftsman. He has been DIY since childhood and is now a septuagenarian. He is experienced in wood and metal construction, having designed and built several houses and metal buildings. He built every permanent building on his current homestead and did all the plumbing and electrical work. He has several years experience as a professional cabinet builder, and he is an accomplished auto repairman, having operated an auto repair business for many years. He currently has a home shop where he sharpens and rebuilds saws, repairs lawn mowers, mobility scooters, hydraulic jacks, and anything else that comes along. He also builds custom tools for metal working. Invention prototypes are another of his many accomplishments. He owned and operated a manufacturing business building Compact Utility Vehicles for homeowner use. H.R. enjoys making jams and jellies during fruit season along with cooking meals. He is committed to outdoor cooking in a Bar-B-Q pit he welded together several years ago. He maintains fruit and nut trees along with helping his wife with a vegetable garden. He farmed commercial garden produce for several years. It helps to have over 50 years of farming and ranching experience. Employment/Education Highlights ASE Certified Master Auto Technician Certified Welder Cross country truck driver -- over dimensional freight Design Engineer/Project Manager for injection molded plastic company Bus Driver/Substitute Teacher Inventor with two patents (weight training – anti-rollback for manual wheelchair) BS in Industrial Technology
