Hazards to avoid in the home

Did you know that piling clothes on top of an immersion heater can cause a potential fire hazard and a cluttered kitchen cupboard can be a health risk?!

Don’t worry a few quick checks around your home can make you safe and secure in the knowledge that you are doing all you can to keep your home warm, tidy and safe.

It’s important to understand that small spaces and confined areas where a restricted airflow around heating equipment can already be a challenge are important to be kept free of clutter and while we have all stuffed our cupboards full when the in-laws have paid a visit the long term effects of an overfull airing cupboard can be catastrophic!

By making sure if you do have an airing cupboard that you use the correct vented shelving appropriately and not pile clothes directly on top of the hot water tank and making sure that clothing, towels, bedding etc do not fall or are pushed in around the tank or in front of the tank will keep the air flowing and prevent a potential fire.

Another key area to keep clutter-free is your kitchen waste pipe area under the kitchen sink, slow leaks can cause long-term damage to your cupboards and flooring and cause dampness to build up in areas that are out of sight and so you don’t always regularly check.

Kitchen waste pipes and traps if fitted properly should be located near to the back of the kitchen under sink cupboard which we all find to be a convenient place to store our detergents and cleaning items,  but if you over fill this area not only can you bang into and dislodge pipes you will make it harder to see if there are any potential leaks or hazards.

Keeping a few essentials in your kitchen under sink cupboard is no problem at all as long as you can see all of the pipes without obstruction and also the base of the cupboard under your pipes to check for leaks so that problems can be seen and addressed quickly if necessary.

Keeping your home hazard-free is common sense but none of us is perfect and so it does hurt to make sure you sense check your home and its safety every so often to be sure you are not causing potential hazards for you and your loved ones.

Stay Safe – call if you need any help or support with your electrical or plumbing needs, our 24-hour call-out is available locally and we are happy to talk through any issues we can help with.