Don't Let Hazards Be an Uninvited Guest This Season

Whether relatives and friends stay for a short or an extended visit, it’s important for families to take simple steps to make their homes safe, especially for young children and older adults – the age groups most at risk for home injury.

The Home Safety Council recommends that hosts find and fix home hazards while they are preparing for the holidays. Once guests arrive, take time to review critical safety precautions and practices with them. The Home Safety Council offers the following advice:

	Check the lights over all stairways, hallways, porches and entries to ensure all bulbs are working and are bright enough to illuminate the entire area below. Stick to the maximum safe wattage, which is printed inside the fixture.
	If tubs and showers don’t already have non-stick strips or mats in them, affix them now. Put sturdy grab-bars inside the bath and shower area – new models are attractive and easier to install. Place nightlights inside bathrooms and in the hallways leading to them.
	If your guests will include toddlers, purchase safety gates and place them at the tops and bottoms of stairways.
	If you have an attached garage and/or fuel-burning heat or appliances, your home should have a carbon monoxide (CO) detector installed to protect sleeping areas.
	Post the local and national poison control hotline number, as well as other local emergency numbers, near every telephone. The National Poison Control Hotline is 1-800-222-1222.
	To keep curious children safe, make sure all matches and lighters, medications, household cleaners, toiletries and other dangerous products are locked in a cabinet. Keep products in original containers with child-proof closures in tact. Remember to keep purses, backpacks and luggage out of children's reach too.
	Every home must have working smoke alarms on each level and protecting all the places people will be sleeping. Test every smoke alarm and replace any dead or missing batteries.  If your alarms are ten years old or more, replace them.
	When guests arrive, walk through your home fire escape plan with them, pointing out primary and secondary exits and the outside meeting place.
	Prevent scalds by turning your hot water heater temperature to 120°F or less.
	When toddlers are visiting, use toilet seat locks to prevent drowning. Be aware that buckets, spas, pools/ponds, tubs and all standing water are a serious drowning risk for very young children.
	Make guest rooms safe as well as welcoming. Place a nightlight inside each room and the hallway outside it. Provide each guest with a working flashlight. If possible, place a telephone in each guest room as well.