Last week we talked about safety in the bathroom. Today I’d like to talk about another room in your home, your kitchen. You spend a lot of time in your kitchen and this means that you are exposed to a lot of hazards that you need to be aware of.
The kitchen is a very dangerous place. In fact, it has more hazards in it then your bathroom has. Because of this there are a lot of accidents that are waiting to happen in this room. Just think about it. You have gas lines, open flames, electricity, water, slippery surfaces, knives, and organic materials intermingling 24 hours a day.
To improve your safety in your kitchen you first need to identify the hazards. For example, if you have a gas range then there could be gas leaks that could lead to Co2 poisoning or explosions. Another example is having a smooth flooring material like linoleum or ceramic tile. When these smooth surfaces get wet they become slippery.
After you have your list of hazards, your next step is to identify safety steps that you can take to minimize your risks of having an accident. For example, you can prevent, or at least minimize, your chances of having a gas related accident by having the gas line and your gas appliances serviced annually. This will help you to identify problems as they develop and repair them before they become a problem.
The kitchen is where we spend a lot of time. To make sure that kitchen accidents don’t lead to a need for ltc, we need to take steps to protect ourselves. Fortunately, small changes in how the kitchen is set up can dramatically reduce our risk for needing long term care. Next week we will continue our discussion about safety and long term care insurance savings.