Playing It Safe
We all want our homes to be safe havens—places where we can relax in comfort and security. But every year, home-related accidents result in medical visits and sometimes death to thousands of people in the United States. The top three causes of these injuries are: 1) falls, 2) poisonings, and 3) fires and burns. Many of these accidents take place in the bathroom. The average person uses the bathroom six times a day. With such a high level of usage, it is important for this room to be as safe as possible. We recommend these home improvements to help keep you and your loved ones safe while using your bathroom.
1. Falls: Eliminate!
• Wet, slippery tubs and shower floors can lead to some of the most serious injuries in the bathroom. Select non-slip floor surfaces for your bathroom and install grab bars.Many grab bars today are cleverly designed to avoid giving your bathroom an institutional appearance. Check out the new 
products from Invisia, that integrate a toilet paper holder with a grab bar, or a towel bar with a grab bar—effectively hiding the grab bar in plain sight.
• A comfort height toilet provides a seat height that is the same as that of a standard chair, maximizing your ease and comfort when sitting down or standing up.
• An LED light sensor night light in the bathroom will automatically turn on in low light levels. The night light will softly illuminate the path for safe nighttime visits to the bathroom, helping you avoid any tripping hazards along the away. It will also provide enough light to safely complete all normal bathroom tasks.
2. Poisonings: Eradicate!
• More than two million poisonings are reported to poison control centers each year—with the highest rates among children under age five. To help prevent poisoning, all medications and other poisonous items should be locked up and placed out of reach of children and pets. This may be accomplished by adding child-proof locks on the doors of cabinets where cleaning solutions are stored, as well as by installing a medicine cabinet with a built-in lock box for added safety.
• Keep all medications and bathroom cleaning solutions in their original containers with labels attached, to ensure they are used properly and not mistaken for another product. Never mix one medication with another.
3. Burns: Exterminate!
• Although 96 percent of all homes in the United States have at least one smoke alarm, some burns occur without any smoke! Each year, about 112,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms with scald burns, many of which are a result of household water heaters being set at temperatures above 120 degrees F. To prevent these burns, turn down your water heater to 120 degrees and install an anti-scald regulator fixture in the shower, tub and vanity sink. (This article features the ioDIGITAL from Moen)
• Never leave potential fire hazards, such as space heaters, candles or curling irons, unattended. Replace lit candles with battery-powered “flameless” candles and purchase a curling iron with an auto shut-off function.
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