10 Simple Ways to Make your Home Healthier and Safer for Your Family

10 Simple Ways to Make your Home Healthier and Safer for Your Family

Your home should be your sanctuary from the madness of the world. You should seek to keep it healthy and safe especially if you have young children who are prone to asthma and allergies.

More importantly, a healthy and safe home helps you live longer and will give you a regular dose of happiness. You’ll also save money because your family won’t get sick often or injured.

Here are ten steps you can take to make your home your piece of heaven on earth.

Be Mindful of Hot Liquids

One place where your little children could get severe burns is the bathtub. Make sure that you test the temperature of the water before your kids get into the tub.

During meals, be careful when serving them hot soups or beverages. They’re clumsy, and they can easily spill it and end up scalding their soft hands.

Make it fire-proof

Install smoke alarms in each room and on each floor and have a couple of multipurpose fire extinguisher for emergencies. Try to get everyone oriented and trained on how to deal with fire problems. Make a simple fire exit plan so that everyone can avoid dying from suffocation and smoke inhalation.

When leaving the house, make sure appliances are unplugged and things are switched off. Doing this will lessen the risk of sudden fires and help reduce your electricity bill.

Lock up common household poisons

Your children are inquisitive at their age, and they might ingest anything they came across in the house. Everyday household items like cleaners, mouthwash, perfume and prescription drugs when ingested can be hazardous to your children. Keep them in cupboards that are not accessible to them.

Invest in your bathroom

One good investment you can do for the bathroom is to get a bidet toilet combo. It is hygienic as water is more efficient than toilet paper. Washing is also hands-free which is excellent for the elderly. Finally, it has a deodorizing filter to remove bad odor in the bathroom.

Clean your home regularly

A clean home will help your home become safer because things are in their proper place. Your children won’t be tripping and get injured. A dirty house makes it attractive to germs and bugs. They will want to breed and make it their home.

So try to clean your home at least twice a week to ensure that it doesn’t build up dust, dirt and become a breeding spot for cockroaches and flies which can spread diseases in your home. A dusty house can also trigger allergies.

Get everyone participating in this cleaning routine. Doing this will make cleanliness a key priority for everyone, not just you.

Do regular maintenance and repairs

Make regular upkeep on your home to avoid costly significant repairs and to ensure that your home is safe for living. Check the roof, holes in walls or doors and look for loose wiring. Check for leaks and cracks. See if the window panes are secured, and the flooring has no holes or loose tiles. The idea is that a house becomes dangerous if you let don’t do repairs immediately and let it worsen instead.

Food safety and disposal is critical

Food poisoning is a popular way to get sick. You should create a system in your home to avoid food poisoning. One way to do this is to make sure to keep the kitchen always clean so that there won’t be flies and cockroaches roaming around while you prepare the food.

Take note of the expiry of food so that you can use them way before their expiry dates. Avoid buying too much food so that they don’t get stored too long. A lot of food gets wasted because they are stored too long and forgotten under the mess. Sometimes, they get eaten because of carelessness, and people end up getting poisoned.

Make sure that you dispose of leftover food properly. Look through your fridge and throw away the old food. Don’t keep it in the home as it can be a breeding spot for germs. Throw it properly in garbage bags and keep it closed in a garbage bin so that stray cats or dogs won’t be going through your garbage.

One of the most germ and bacteria-infested items in your kitchen is the sponge that you use to clean your plates and utensils. Make sure you microwave it regularly to kill the microbes and avoid getting your family sick.

Other spots in your kitchen filled with germs are the drain sink and the countertop. Make sure you clean it with soap and water after every meal preparation. The rugs and towels that you use for cleaning are also filled with microbes. Ensure that you wash it regularly so that the germs do not get to multiply.

Keep emergency numbers near the phone

You never know when emergencies will strike, therefore, ensure that a list of emergency numbers and people to contact are there for an easy dial. Police, ambulance, and fire station numbers should be on that list.

Ensure the stairs are safe

The staircase is one place in the house that can cause significant accidents especially if you have young children and elderly folks living with you. One way to make it safer is to make sure there is a light source above the stairs, and this should be easily accessible or even better switched on completely throughout the night so that when there bathroom trips at night, there is less danger to slip and fall.

Another safety feature you can do with the stairs is to get some non-slip material designed for stairs. This material reduces friction and can help prevent silly injuries.

Finally, it’s best to have handrails on both sides. This is particularly helpful for the elderly. Also, don’t forget to clear the stairs of clutter especially toys like lego as people can easily slip and injure themselves if they step on it.

Purify the air in your home

The air in your home can make a big difference to the health of your family. Make sure you schedule regular cleaning for your air conditioners so that its filters will be removed from dirt and dust. It’s also a good idea to get some air purifiers to put into your bedrooms. Finally, try to get an excellent vacuum cleaner. Choose the one that can pick up the smallest of dust particles.