If you own a car or you are an automobile enthusiast, gaining the big rewards of contentment means getting down and dirty to work on your cars. What better place is there to work on your cars than your very own garage? However putting pleasure aside safety should always be the number one concern when working as normally house a lot of hazardous substances like gasoline, sharp tools and equipment, toxic and inflammable items, glass bottles, spray cans, insecticides, etc. even the doors can be dangerous not only for you but also for your kids pets or loved ones who might accidentally wander off into. To avoid any sort of accidents it is extremely important to follow the basics of safety at all times. Not sure on what to do? Well, that is what we are here to guide you on, below we have listed all the basic precautions you need to take to make your garage a safe place for both yourself and your loved ones.
Contents
Organize and unclutter
Cleaning up a haphazard garage can be a hefty task for sure however it can definitely help prevent probable injuries to you or your loved ones. The best way to organize your place is to first categorize all the items you have there. Next sort where each category item should be placed i.e. cabinets, pegboards, shelves, etc. just make sure you don’t have random things lying around on the floor as it could cause accidental tripping leading to injury.
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Ensure safety against fire hazards
Garages aren’t exempted from the guidelines of fire safety. Due to all the fertilizers, chemicals, paints, and gasoline stored in most of the garages you should make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand just in case. Also, make sure to store flammable items away from electronic devices, fire detectors should be installed and all the wiring inside should be safe and proper to avoid short circuits.
Tool safety
A garage houses all sorts of sharp and dangerous tools which might be very useful, but can also be very dangerous if not used and stored with safety and caution. Like when using sharp tools make sure that you are wearing safety gear and goggles. Don’t leave any power tools plugged in after use, always store your ladders in a horizontal position so that your kids don’t accidentally climb them.
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Burn Prevention
When opening the radiator of your car always keep in mind that the radiators are under high pressure sometimes as high as 15 psi. While the temperature may rise above 123 Fahrenheit. So it is strongly suggested not to pry open the radiator when the temperature is too high which causes extreme risks of you getting burned. Always wait for the temperatures to come down to s lukewarm level before opening it using some cloth or towel.
Special Safety Measures for Garage Doors
As we all know how heavy garage doors are whether manual or automatic they can promote serious injuries like crushing fingers or a head injury or even death. To avoid this we need to make sure special measures have been installed to make them safe like for manual garage doors it is better to have a counterbalance system rather than a long coil spring. Or if you have an automatic door ensure that it has a device installed that stops or reverses the door back if it accidentally comes in contact with any object or person.
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Other Safety Tips
Following other miscellaneous tips can be followed to make your garage a safe working space:
- Store all sorts of toxic, inflammable materials or pesticides, etc. on shelves that are above the reach of your children to avoid them accidentally opening them.
- Clean up all sorts of spills immediately to avoid tripping.
- The garage should always have proper lighting so that each and every corner is visibly reducing the risk of slipping or falling.
- Floorjacktips will guide you about floor jacks or hydraulic jacks to help you work under your car, always make sure to use a decent quality axle stand along with the jack to avoid accidents leading to someone getting crushed under the car.
- Always lock your car doors after parking it as heavy car doors can crush the fingers of your little ones or they can even themselves get locked inside the car if they enter unsupervised.
- Dispose of all sorts of toxic and inflammable materials properly.
- Use latches for your drawers and cabinets installed and also put covers on all-electric outlets as small children sometimes accidentally put their fingers into the socket causing serious injuries.
- Use a pair of safety goggles when working on things that can lead to sharp metal particles flying into your eye to avoid damage.
- Install smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide detectors in your garage for added safety.
- Last but not least always close and lock the garage. This keeps your house and items both safe from intruders.
