Identify Hidden Dangers in Your Home
Shower doors that shatter out of the blue. Heaters that set curtains and eventually houses on fire. Refrigerators that malfunction, leading to spoiled food and a rush to the bathroom. These incidents may seem like elements of a poorly made horror movie. However, these are some of the real-world risks that could occur in your home.
These occurrences are more frequent than you might believe. Identifying potential dangers in your home is essential before they become a hazard to you and your family.
Hidden Dangers in the Kitchen
While the kitchen is often considered the home’s centerpiece, it’s also a frequent site of accidents. Predictably, many injuries are burns and cuts. It’s all too common to undervalue the importance of oven mitts or overvalue your knife skills. However, cooking fires and faulty electrical wiring are also prevalent causes. Dishwashers can be hazardous, too, when warped interior plastic components reveal sharp edges that can injure people. There isn’t a single solution to mitigate kitchen risks, but experts suggest the following measures:
- Preventing Slips and Falls – Stumbling over an open dishwasher door can bruise your leg and cause you to fall. Therefore, ensure it is shut after use.
- Update Wiring Modern – Safe wiring is particularly critical in kitchens due to the number of appliances. Outdated or faulty wiring can result in fires when appliances are activated. Hiring an electrician is wise if you’ve lived in your home for many years and haven’t recently inspected the wiring.
- Ensure Electrical Safety – Ensure your kitchen has GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) outlets. These outlets, recognizable by their reset buttons, cut off electricity flow upon detecting any current abnormality.
- Monitor Fridge and Freezer Temperatures – Refrigerators don’t always maintain the desired temperature, and their display might be inaccurate. Some red flags include softer-than-normal butter, condensation in the fridge, or ice on the freezer walls. Check that the fridge and freezer door seals are tight. For reliable temperature monitoring—37°F for the fridge and 0°F for the freezer—purchase separate thermometers.
Hidden Dangers in the Bathroom
Routine tasks like taking a shower, using a hairdryer, or shaving can sometimes carry risks. This is partly because bathrooms often get wet, and the hard surfaces—like sinks, bathtubs, and tiled walls and floors—can be harsh during a fall. Also, the combination of water and electricity can be problematic. Here are some suggestions to make your bathroom safer:
- Use Rugs with Rubber Backing – Place a non-slip mat beneath your bathroom rug. Whichever rug you opt for, select one with a low profile. Luxurious, plush rugs might seem less attractive if you get bruised from tripping over them. Consider installing non-slip mats in bathtubs and showers, too.
- Repair Shower Doors – Shower doors can occasionally shatter. Similar to glass oven doors, even small chips, and scratches can create stress points, making them prone to breaking if, for example, you accidentally knock them with your elbow. Misaligned or loosely installed doors can also cause the glass to shatter. Hence, fix or replace any glass enclosure that’s damaged, scratched, or doesn’t seem to close correctly.
- Shower Responsibly – Decrease your water heater’s temperature to 120°F. This can help prevent burns, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and may also decrease your hot water bills. If you’re slightly unstable, add a shower seat with rubber-tipped feet, allowing you to sit while cleaning. Consider installing a handheld showerhead with a sliding bar and a 6-foot hose for seated or standing.
- Handle Electronics Carefully – Using a hairdryer in the bath is an obvious no-no. But even running water can be dangerous if you’re using a hairdryer or any other plugged-in appliance. Contact with a stream of water from a tap or a stray spray from a shower could give you an electric shock. And although you might not see your cellphone as a major appliance, it can cause harm if you plug it in while bathing and it falls into the water. Like in the kitchen, ensure your bathroom is equipped only with GFCI outlets.
Hidden Dangers in the Laundry Room
While kitchen fires may seem more likely, laundry rooms can also be a fire hazard. A 2020 National Fire Protection Association report states that local fire departments attend nearly 14,000 dryer fires annually. The common culprit: surprisingly flammable lint. Washing machines with defective wire or cable insulation can also be a source of home fires. Here are some tips to prevent these and other dangers.
- Maintain Your Dryer Vents – Have a professional HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) technician clean and inspect your dryer vent each year. Additionally, clear the lint filter before each use. The NFPA attributes roughly one-third of dryer fires to vents blocked with fibers that ignite while the dryer is operational.
- Secure Your Laundry Pods – Children can mistake detergent packets for sweets, but they can be dangerous if swallowed. Even touching the pods and then touching your skin or eyes can cause harm. From January to November 2021, 9,548 calls to poison control centers related to children 5 and under ingesting or touching laundry pods, as per the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Therefore, store laundry pods on a high shelf or locked cabinet.
Hidden Dangers in the Bedroom
Your bedroom should ideally be a sanctuary, a place to retreat from the world’s stresses. Here are some tips to ensure your bedroom remains safe and tranquil.
- Anchor Your Furniture – Securing heavy furniture items like dressers, bookshelves, and large televisions to the wall, particularly in children’s rooms, is essential. According to the CPSC, between 2017 and 2019, an average of 19,900 people annually visited ERs for injuries related to furniture tipping over. Additionally, from 2000 to 2019, 351 people were reportedly killed in tip-over incidents. These accidents don’t just affect young children; over 11,000 adults are injured yearly by furniture tipping over. Even high-end and seemingly sturdy dressers can tip over, especially when a drawer is open, or a TV is placed on top.
Ensure your furniture and TV are securely fastened. Here’s how:
- Secure dressers to your wall studs using the anti-tip kits included with the product or different kits you can buy.
- Avoid using drywall anchors or toggles; they detach too easily.
- Attach the bracket as high as possible on the furniture, preferably into solid wood.
- Use a wall mount for your TV rather than placing it on a dresser or other furniture.
- If you can’t wall-mount your TV, ensure the furniture it is placed on is stable and large enough to support it and secure the TV as you would a dresser.
Hidden Dangers in the Living Room
Falls, fires, and unexpected accidents involving children are among the significant worries for homeowners, and understandably so. Slips and falls can happen anywhere in the home and can be particularly daunting around staircases. Elderly individuals are notably susceptible to accidents and injuries; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over three million people aged 65 and above visit emergency rooms yearly due to fall-related injuries. While most residential fires originate in kitchens, fireplaces, and wood-burning stoves also present numerous hazards, ranging from obstructed chimneys to rooms filled with smoke and excessively hot glass doors. For small children, risks can arise from the most unexpected sources. Here are some ways to mitigate these hazards.
- Ensure Adequate Lighting – Dark or poorly lit areas increase the risk of trips and falls. Therefore, ensure that working lights are installed at the top and bottom of all staircases, install night lights in all hallways, and ascertain that common areas like living rooms and dining rooms are well-illuminated.
- Maintain Stability – This involves installing treads on staircases and wood or tile floors, firmly fixing large rugs to the floor with anti-slip pads, and avoiding throw rugs or area rugs that are challenging to secure. Ensure all electrical cords run along the room’s edges, not across the floor. If possible, install handrails on both sides of staircases.
- Implement Fire Screens – Nothing makes a home more inviting than a roaring fire, as long as it remains contained. Always use a screen to cover the fireplace opening. The glass doors on some fireplaces and wood or pellet stoves can become excessively hot, so avoid touching them with bare hands. Use oven mitts or welder’s gloves for handling handles or emptying ash bins. Don’t forget to have your chimney inspected and cleaned annually. An air purifier can help to eliminate irritating particulates.
- Opt for Cordless Solutions – According to the CPSC, a small child can take less than a minute to strangle themselves after getting entangled in a window cord. Moreover, these accidents often occur silently. If you have young children, opt for cordless window coverings. Alternatively, keep furniture away from windows, shorten cords as much as possible, or tie them securely with a decorative ribbon or sash.
Watch the YouTube video for more hidden dangers in your home.
California Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento personal injury attorney. If you or someone close to you has endured severe injuries due to an avoidable accident, contact our law firm at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for complimentary, no-obligation advice.
Our team of seasoned injury attorneys has been committed to helping residents of Northern California secure the highest possible compensation for accident and wrongful death claims since 1982.
Look at our history of Verdicts and Settlements to learn more about our past cases.
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