Expert DIY Safety Tips
31st August 2021
Today we want to talk about some Safety measures when doing DIY at home. We all love to do some home improvements from time to time, however, DIY can involve using some tools that can be quite dangerous if not used correctly. Here we want to talk about some precautions that can be taken to prevent any accidents from happening in the home.
Always read the manual and read the labels
Most of us tend to not read any information given with self-assembly products and we take for granted that we can just do it, but make sure if working with tools that you read the manual and pay close attention to safety directions.
Some tools can be particularly dangerous such as angle grinders, chainsaws etc. In these cases, you should consider doing a safety course on their use or hire a professional who is properly trained in their use.
Dress with Safety in mind
If you are intending to work with dangerous tools, don’t have jewelry, long hair or long sleeves dangling around that could be caught up and pull you in. Wearing shorts or sandals in an area where there are sharp or hot objects can also cause problems.
It’s best to reduce bare skin to a minimum and to wear protective clothing that is appropriate for the task. The most common types of safety clothing include helmets, gloves, goggles, ear muffs, breathing masks, overalls, aprons and boots. You may need some or all of these depending on the type of job you are undertaking.
Be careful with Electricity
For electrical repairs do not try this yourself, always use a registered electrician of RECI and always ask for identification before you allow them to carry out work in your home.
Don’t overload sockets. You may be able to use more than one low-powered device on one socket such as a mobile phone charger or laptop charger, but high-powered electric tools use a lot of power and are not meant to share one socket together.
Surprisingly, an electric kettle can use as much or more power than many power tools and electrical appliances. Check with an electrician if you are unsure.
“Always shut off the power to your home when dealing with electricity”
Keep an eye on the condition of the plugs and sockets. If you find any burnt or frayed wires get an electrician to fix them.
Be careful about putting nails or screws in the walls of your home as there may be wires behind the wall. In addition to this take care when digging or excavating below ground as you run the risk of cutting live underground wire. You can buy equipment for detecting wires. Alternatively, hire a tradesman who has this equipment already.