I know I just did a blog post about laundry packet poison prevention back in January, but since March 20 – 26 is National Poison Prevention Week, I wanted to take another opportunity to broach the subject of chemical dangers in your home.
But first, let’s talk a little about the NPPW and how you can get involved. Poison Help® has a great planning guide that you can download and use to organize an event at your local school, assisted living facility, community center, or any place you might think of.
Planning guide ideas include contacting the local media, organizing poison prevention poster contests, hosting poison first-aid classes, and much more. Check out the guide on the Poison Help® website.
But if these types of activities are not your thing, you can always take steps to prevent accidental poisoning in your own home. Here are some tips how:
Never mix household chemicals and cleaners. These products may react and produce lethal gasses.
Never share prescription drugs. And if you and your spouse or partner both take prescription medications, designate certain areas for each of you so that you never accidentally take their medicine by mistake.
Keep all cleaners, solvents, adhesives, paints, flammable liquids, and other household chemicals in locked chemical safety cabinets with the lids or caps screwed on securely. Here is one example I found on the Home Depot website. USE CAUTION: Highly volatile chemicals may need to be stored separately, and it may not be safe to store some chemicals side by side in a locked cabinet.
Use child-resistant locks on all cabinets, even where detergents are kept. If you have kids in your home, make "up and away" your safety mantra.
Don’t just concentrate on things that can be swallowed. Many fumes and gases can be noxious as well. Always use proper ventilation when using products with high VOCs, and install a carbon monoxide alarm in your home.
This is only a partial list of what you can do. To find out more ways to make your home safe, explore these poison prevention tips.
Copyright 2016, URBAN URBANE CLEANING
