Many people consider the laundry room the least dangerous room in their homes, yet it’s a room where deaths, lifelong injuries, and property loss happen every year. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) more than 10,000 fires that cause the loss of property and lives occur in homes due to accidents in the laundry room.
If you do not want to become a victim of the dangers associated with the laundry room, ensure you take these precautionary measures to prevent potential harm from such accidents or incidents.
According to the statistics provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) lint accumulation in the dryer is one of the leading causes of fire in the dryers. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Fire Administration website reports that 2,900 home clothing dryer fires are reported annually and lead to an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 millions in property loss. According to the same source, did you know that failure to clean the dryer or 34% is the leading cause of home clothing dryer fires? As lint accumulates in the dryer without being removed from the dryer lint screen or the dryer lint filter, the temperature continues rising and eventually the sustained increase in temperature leads to a lint fire. You can use the practical tips below to protect yourself and your family from facing such troublesome situations.
Useful Tips:
- Ensure you clean your dryer lint screen or lint filter thoroughly before and after running the dryer after each laundered load; an easy way to prevent lint build up.
- Remove and suction out any lint in your dryer vent, dryer vent hose and dryer vent duct so that there is no lint stuck; causing building or blockage.
- Check your home’s exterior dryer vent flap for proper functioning. Visually inspect it from the exterior of your home, each time the dryer is in use.
- Install a space-saving Lint Bin by A.J.A. & MORE as a gentle reminder to remove your lint from the lint screen or lint filter.
There is no doubt that keeping the laundry room floor dry is a troublesome job, as water can spill from one source or another. A wet floor is a slippery floor, not good, and may go unnoticed by anyone working in the laundry room. Furthermore, a person might slip, fall and sustain a mild to severe injury. Did you see that coming? Neither did we! A slippery floor can be dangerous to walk on, so ensure you keep the floor dry with the help of following tips.
Useful Tips:
- It’s a smart idea to get a floor drain the laundry room. Before starting laundry, ensure nothing is blocking the water drain.
- You can also use washing machine drain pans to keep the water away from floor. These pans are a couple inches tall, which allows them to collect enough water if it starts leaking from the washer or washing machine.
Often times people place and forget detergents on top of the washing machine after adding it to a load of laundry. As the washer makes subtle vibrational movements while operating, chances are detergents or other cleaning products placed on its surface, could spill onto the floor. Not only have you wasted the product, but you now have a mess to clean up. Do you really need more work on laundry day?
Similarly, keep these products out of the reach of babies or children, as they do not know what is harmful and have a natural habit of exploring (touching, tasting, etc.) anything they get their hands on. These products can burn the more delicate and sensitive skin of children; even worse consequences if they ingest them.
Useful Tips:
- Keep the cleaning products properly sealed and stored, preferably in a locking cabinet or cabinet or shelf that is not easily accessible by young children or pets.
- Ensure every laundry cleaning product is labeled properly so that no one makes a wrong use of it.
Laundry is of no use without electricity and water. However, both of these can be very dangerous when mixed together. Now electrical shocks in the laundry room can be avoided and with proper education and awareness. As mentioned, some people will lose their lives or suffer lifelong injuries related to electrical incidents.
Useful Tips:
- Turn off the washer or dryer machines, if there is any leakage of water in the laundry room.
- It is better to have a circuit breaker or a GFCI installed in your home, to prevent loss of life due to the electric shock.
- If you notice that there is something wrong with the power supply, we recommend leave the laundry room immediately and reach out to a professional.
Children have the habit of making every room their playroom. Oftentimes parents stay unaware of the presence of their child in the laundry room, until they hear a loud cry. If you have toddlers or small kids at home, make sure you are aware of their presence at all times and exercise proper precautionary measures.
Useful Tips:
- Keep the door of washer closed as children may try to put their hand inside a working machine.
- Keep bleach and similar harmful products away from the children.
- Do not allow children to go to the laundry room without a parent present.
- Install or attach a Prop-A-Door device onto the front of a front loading washing machine.
Same rules as above apply to bringing pets in the laundry room. Pets don’t have the same senses as we human have. They do not know what they think good might harm them in the most severe way. As a pet owner it is your responsibility to keep your pet safe and healthy.
Useful Tips:
- Do not bring pets in the laundry room they can engulf any chemical after getting attracted to its smell.
- Bring your pet to the emergency room if an accident happens.
Like any manmade product, machines have the tendency to get damaged naturally with the passage of time. It is better to get machines checked by the professional so that you do not face any huge damage to your property or lives around you due to your negligence.
Useful Tips:
- It is recommended to let a professional make a proper checkup of your machine once in a year so that you can prevent anything bad from happening beforehand.
- If you notice machine is not working properly get it checked by the expert.
- Replace the old water hose with newer ones if you notice leakage of water from them.
- Replace rubber hope with more durable braided hose.
You can save many human lives and a lot of expenses if you do not neglect above-mentioned tips for the laundry room safety. Follow these tips and keep yourself and your loved ones safe!
Source: National Fire Protection Association