Common Household Items Capable of Causing Injuries 

The last thing we want is for someone to be injured when they come into our home. Whether we’re hosting a dinner party with friends, having the neighbors over, or throwing a birthday party for a loved one, we want to keep the house as safe as possible. That’s why it helps to know about some common household items that may be more dangerous than you think. 

Today we’re going to talk about some household items that are capable of causing injury and how best to avoid risk when you have people over. 

#1. Knives 

Knives are something we use all the time as part of many meals for either preparation or eating and it’s important to have them available when the situation calls for it. But what you don’t want is them sitting out in the open for anyone to get their hands on whenever they want. Because we use them as utensils for meals, it is easy to lose track of them sometimes and that’s when injuries can occur. 

Say you’ve been preparing a meal with a sharp knife and you accidentally leave that knife on the edge of the counter. The next thing you know someone has accidentally slipped and sliced their hand or worse. You can also imagine if young children were able to get hold of knives and then go unsupervised. This could lead to serious injuries and even a lawsuit against the negligent party. 

The best way to avoid injury is to keep your knives put away when not in use and do your best to avoid leaving them out in places where someone could have an accident with them. 

#2. Toasters, Ovens, and Coffee Makers 

Appliances are incredibly convenient when used properly but if left unattended they can be a major hazard. Toasters, ovens, and coffee makers are some of the most convenient items to come out of the last 100 or so years, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be cared for properly and kept out of reach of kids. 

These three items can cause serious burns. A coffee maker has a heating element to keep the coffee warm, but remove the pot and someone could accidentally get burned. Similarly, toasters and ovens both get very hot and trying to handle food items while they are still hot can lead to unnecessary harm. 

One way to make sure things stay safe is to turn burners and hot surfaces off immediately after you are done using them and keep appliances on high counters where children cannot reach them to avoid accidents when playing. 

#3. Stand Mixers, Blenders, and Food Processors 

Our next set of dangerous items is another group of appliances. These items can be dangerous while in use or while turned off due to the parts used in them. Mixers, blenders, and food processors all use some sort of spinning mechanism to move food and ingredients around. Blenders and food processors spin the ingredients and use sharp blades to chop and mix things up. Mixers typically use motorized beaters to mix ingredients together. The sharp blades are easy to cut yourself on when the blender or food processor is not in use and stand mixers have been known to get hair, clothing and accessories caught in them, leading to injury. 

It’s best to be extremely careful when using these items, place them on a flat surface, make sure they can be turned off quickly if necessary and avoid anything that could get caught in the machine or cause it to malfunction. 

Dressers and TVs 

We’ve all likely seen the commercials — you have a dresser filled with clothes, a young child goes to reach for something on top of it and the weight causes the piece of furniture to topple over. Similar accidents happen with TVs that are placed on high shelved furniture or incorrectly mounted on the wall. A child or person is doing something near the TV and it all the sudden comes loose and falls to the ground, likely injuring anyone nearby. 

These types of accidents were common enough that safety warnings were issued and commercials were put out about the potential hazard. Most dressers with a potential tipping issue now have a safety strap that helps anchor them to the wall and TVs now come with stronger mounts and better instructions for properly hanging the TV to avoid it coming down. 

Protecting Your Guests by Reducing Household Hazards

Many preventable household accidents occur because a seemingly benign item or appliance is left out for anyone to get their hands on. It’s important to be aware of potential hazards in your home so that you can take the steps necessary to protect children and visitors from harm.