Design Your Bathroom for Safety: Pinpoint the Danger Zones
As much as we love our homes, it’s true when they say most accidents occur in the house. The bathroom, like the kitchen, is a place where the potential for accidents is reasonably high. That is, of course, unless you are aware of these hazards and have safeguards to help prevent them from happening in the first place.
The essential things to the bath are the same things that can cause severe mishaps if you don’t use common sense and caution.
Electricity in the Bathroom
We all know that water and electricity don’t mix. Add the human body to that, and you have a disaster. The electrical conductivity of the human body increases when it is submerged or just simply wet. Most bathrooms have what are called GFCI sockets. GFCI stands for ground fault circuit interrupter. This is an electrical socket that, if installed correctly, can prevent electrical burns or severe or even fatal shocks.
When dealing with any electrical problems or upgrades in the bathroom, you should consult with a licensed electrician.
The Risk of Burns
Scalds from hot water are among the most common causes of burns, especially in children and the elderly. A child’s skin can scald faster than that of an adult. Most water heaters are set at 140°F (60°C) to 158°F (70°C). By lowering the temperature on your water heater to 120°F (49°C), you can prevent most of these burns from ever happening.
The Risk of Slipping
Slipping and falling is probably one of the most common mishaps in the bathroom. Many falls result in little or no injury and therefore go unreported, but thousands of falls every year result in severe injury or even death. Most of these fall-related deaths occur in older adults. You can do many things to help prevent falls from happening in your bathroom.
First, make sure you keep your bath floor clean and dry at all times. Clean up any spills right away. Don’t use wax or shine type cleaners on the bathroom floor. Place non-slip mats in the bottoms of tubs or showers, and always use throw rugs or other carpets with non-slip backings. Install grab bars in shower stalls and bathtubs and even next to the toilet if you have an elderly adult in the family. In addition, make sure the lighting in the room is not too dim or low.
How To Make Bathroom Safe For Seniors
The bathroom is universally considered a danger to seniors and is usually the result of a slip and fall. Did you know that 80% of the elderly falls happen in the bathroom? Doing the necessities listed above to prevent slipping and falling is vital to keep seniors safe.
Child Safety in the Bathroom
Besides the dangers of scalds and slipping in the bathroom, several risks face children in particular. Children love to explore. If there are off-limit or out-of-the-way places, most little ones can’t resist trying to find out what treasures you’re keeping from them. This includes climbing up on the sink or toilet to explore the medicine cabinet. Of course, this is where we often store medications, razors, grooming shears, etc.
Besides instilling the fact to children that climbing on the sink or toilet can be dangerous, make sure you keep medications and grooming tools out of reach. The same applies to under vanity storage or a linen cabinet or closet where you might store cleaning products. Small children find some colorful liquids incredibly tempting and may try to drink them.
It is recommended to add child safety latches to sink vanities and locks on any cabinets or closets where you store your cleaning products or anything else that might be dangerous to children.
Update Your Bathroom For Safety and Prevent The Potential Dangers
There are a lot of potential dangers in the average bathroom, but with just a few additions and changes, you can make your bathroom a safer place for the entire family.
If you are looking for a bathroom contractor, look no further than Morgan Contractors. We have been residential and commercial remodeling, renovation and addition contractors for both interior and exteriors for over twenty years. Give us a call or contact us using our online form so we can discuss further your construction needs.
Browse our blog articles to learn more about new construction, additions, renovations and remodels. Below are a few of our bathroom-related articles.
11 Eco-friendly Tips to Going Green in the Bathroom
6 Chic Focal Points Using Black in Bathroom
6 Small Bathroom Makeover Ideas on a Budget
