Driving to and from work during these winter months has some obvious risks. Things like weather and road conditions are more treacherous when the temperatures are colder. But, there are also some areas of your home that can be unsafe, all year around.
Most people don’t usually think about how unsafe their home is. After all, getting home from a long day at work or school is always comforting because your home is where you are the safest.
But, each year more than 200,000 non-fatal accidents happen inside of homes. And, a majority of these accidents are due to unsafe conditions in the bathroom. Most homeowners don’t think about how their bathroom can be unsafe, and that is why we offer these tips:
- Consider adding grab bars to your bathtub or shower for added stability. This is especially important if you have small children or elderly people in your home who may have trouble with balance when standing up from the bathtub. Grab bars are an easy addition and can quickly improve the safety of your bathroom.
- Add textured decals to the bottom of your bathtub for added traction. Many homes have a bathtub and shower combination, so these decals are great. Standing up to get out of the bathtub or, standing in the shower can both be made much safer by adding these simple decals or a non-slip bath mat.
- Make sure that your bathroom floor is always kept dry. This can be difficult if you have small children in the home. But, it is an important safety step. Add a non-slip bathmat to the floor outside of your shower or bathtub. Make sure that your older children know to wipe the floor down before they leave the bathroom.
- If you have a step stool or wastebasket in the bathroom, make sure they are stored behind the toilet or even in a cupboard when not in use so that no one trips over them. These items are easy to miss when you are walking into the bathroom at night and tripping in the bathroom could easily lead to a serious injury.
Keep the inside of your home safe and welcoming by following these tips for added safety. The best way to avoid an accident is to be thoughtful of where and how one could occur – and, then put systems in place to avoid it.