Thanksgiving is a day for food, family, and friends. The kitchen is always used heavily on this day which brings inherent safety risks. Below, you will find five important Thanksgiving safety tips to keep your holiday accident-free.
1. Keep Your Kitchen Floor Clean
On the largest cooking holiday of the year, it’s hard to get around the kitchen quickly and safely with a messy floor. The risk of cooking accidents increases when you can trip or slip on trash or other items.
When you start your cooking for the day, be sure to do a quick cleaning of your kitchen floor first. Remove any toys, shoes, and other objects on your kitchen floor that could get in your way. One of many important Thanksgiving safety tips is to clean messes as they happen to prevent anyone from slipping.
2. Don’t Neglect Food On The Stove
Paying attention to food on the stove is an important Thanksgiving safety tip since there are fire hazards associated with cooking. Statistics show that over two thousand fires occur each year around Thanksgiving due to careless cooking practices. These fires result in injuries, property damages, and deaths. Don’t let your family members or your home become harmed because you left your stove unattended.
3. Thanksgiving Safety Tips and Children
If kids start running and playing in the kitchen while you’re cooking, it can turn unsafe fast. Kids can pull hot pots off the stove or knock knives onto the floor. Keep the kitchen kid-free by designating a supervised play area in another part of the house and limit access with a baby gate, if necessary.
4. Test Your Smoke Alarms
If a fire starts in your home while cooking, you will want as much time as possible to either put the fire out to evacuate the home. Be sure to check your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to make sure they have batteries and work correctly. Check your fire extinguisher and if it is expired, replace it.
5. Use LED Candles
An effective way to create a cozy ambiance for Thanksgiving dinner is lighting candles. But candles can pose a fire hazard if the flame catches onto the tablecloth, curtains, or napkins. Opt to use LED candles instead. LED candles are safer than real candles and some even come with a realistic looking flicker and remote control.
When preparing for Thanksgiving, remember these Thanksgiving safety tips to keep your gathering safe for your guests. Greater Tampa Home Inspections wishes you a happy and safe Thanksgiving!