Summertime allows homeowners the opportunity to spend quality time outdoors. While the warm weather brings along lots of outdoor enjoyment, there are also potential dangers to be avoided. By planning ahead and taking precautions you can ensure safety hazards don’t spoil your fun.
Grill Safety
Summertime means backyard barbecues. But grilling on or near combustible areas can be a fire hazard. The most common grilling hazards are open flames and heat generated in the grill base that can be transferred to the wood of a porch, deck or siding, causing a fire.
When grilling, follow these safety tips:
• Place the grill away from siding, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches
• Periodically remove grease or fat build-up
• Use only proper starter fluid and store the can away from heat sources
• Check propane cylinder hoses for leaks before use
• Do not move hot grills
• Dispose of charcoal properly, keeping ash containers outside and away from combustible construction
Water Safety
Stay safe on the water this year whether it be swimming in a backyard pool or in a lake. The Canadian Red Cross offers swimming lessons and water safety courses for people of all ages. Here are a few water safety tips from the Red Cross. For more information visit www.redcross.ca.
• Learn to swim. The best thing anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim—this includes adults and children.
• Never leave a child unobserved around water. Your eyes must be on the child at all times. Adult supervision is recommended.
• Install a phone by the pool or keep a cordless phone nearby so that you can call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
• Learn Red Cross CPR and insist that babysitters, grandparents, and others who care for your child know CPR.
• Enclose the pool completely with a self-locking, self-closing fence with vertical bars. Openings in the fence should be no more than 10-cm (4-inches) wide. If the house is part of the barrier, the doors leading from the house to the pool should remain locked and be protected with an alarm that produces sounds when the door is unexpectedly opened.
• Never leave furniture near the fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence.
• Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it. Pole, rope, and personal flotation devices (PFDs) are recommended.
• Keep toys away from the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.
• Pool covers should always be completely removed prior to pool use.
• If a child is missing, check the pool first. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool, bottom, and surface, as well as the surrounding pool area.
Sun safety
Protect yourself and your family against sunburn and the potential risk of skin cancer by following a few simple tips:
• Apply sunscreen with at least an SPF-15 or higher, to all exposed areas of the body
• Minimize your exposure to the sun between the hours of 10:00AM and 3:00PM, when the sun is strongest
• Reapply sunscreen every two hours, even on cloudy days and especially after swimming or perspiring.
• Wear a hat that shades your face and clothing that covers your body
• Avoid exposure to UV radiation from sunlamps or tanning parlours.
Bug safety
The Ontario Ministry of Health is urging people to protect themselves against the threat of West Nile Virus. The best way to avoid this potentially dangerous virus is to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes. Here are a few practical suggestions to lower your risk:
• Clean up and empty containers of stagnant water, such as old tires, flower pots, wheelbarrows, barrels or tin cans that are outdoors. Drill holes in the bottoms of used containers so water can't collect. Change water in bird baths weekly.
• Collect lawn cuttings, raked leaves or other decaying debris, such as apples or berries that fall from trees, and recycle or mulch so that organic matter does not end up in storm sewers as a food source for mosquito larvae. Turn over compost frequently.
• Check window screens for holes and make sure they fit snugly into the window frame so mosquitoes will not get indoors. If you don't have screens, consider keeping windows closed between dusk and dawn.
• Make sure you wear light-coloured clothing such as long-sleeved shirts or jackets and long pants. Tuck pants into socks for extra protection when going outside between dusk and dawn.
• Use insect repellent containing DEET that has been approved for use in Canada (it will have a PCP number on the front label) and follow directions for use carefully.
This article is provided by local REALTORS® and the Ontario Real Estate Association for the benefit of consumers in the real estate market.