5 Preventable Dangers in Your Garage

You’re probably less frightened of the garage now than you were as a small child, but ghosts and spiders are the least of your concerns when it comes to garage safety. Many of the most dangerous things about this space are things we put there ourselves.

Making a few simple changes to this overlooked area can greatly reduce the risk of injuries to yourself, your family or pets. Here are a few things to think about when you’re looking to make your garage safer.

1. Store chemicals in locked cabinets

Would you leave containers of powerful solvent, paint and other dangerous chemicals out on the floor of your living room? No. So, why do you do that in the garage? Get these things out of reach of children and pets, preferably in a locked cabinet.

This is especially important with antifreeze. This toxic car chemical has an attractive smell and sweet flavor that can be tempting to children and pets. In addition to keeping antifreeze out of reach, consider switching to a brand containing the bittering agent propylene glycol instead of sweet-tasting ethylene glycol.

Just like you keep medicines and household cleaners up and away inside your home, do the same in your garage. Treat it as an extension of your indoors and apply the same safety rules.

2. Give everything a place

In addition to keeping chemicals locked away, keep your garage organized in general. Sometimes accidents happen because we leave things out and can’t move easily through the garage. Do this long enough, and you’ll end up with a space where you can’t find anything, and where movement is difficult.

Ladders, in particular, should be stored sideways on hooks, rather than vertically propped against the wall. Ladders stored leaning upright can be inviting for a playful child, and it can take just a moment for them to tip backwards.

Try to make a schedule to clean and organize your garage regularly. Even if you think something is out of the way for a savvy adult, it might be somewhere a child could get curious, so get those items high up off the floor.

3. Install lighting

Now that everything has its place and you’ve got cabinets and storage systems installed with labels, you still won’t find something if you can’t see what you’re doing.

Your garage might not have come particularly well-lit, but it doesn’t need to stay that way. Installing a few extra lights can greatly increase safety. Even if things are well organized, there’s always the chance something gets left out. Next thing you know…

Continue reading this Progressive article.

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