To help you stay safer in your garage, we’ve created this short article, listing 5 garage safety tips, and, as a garage door specialist, we’ve also included 5 garage door safety tips, covering the basics of garage door safety, including how to carry out a garage door inspection.
Your garage is a functional room like any other room in your home. But, unless you’re using it as a games room, a cinema room or as a bar etc, your garage is a place for the car, for storing tools or old furniture, and possibly for use as your home workshop, for all those DIY projects.
But, because of its unique uses, and some of the dangerous items kept in it, such as power tools and chemicals such as paraffin or paint, safety has to be one of your main concerns, to prevent injury to yourself and/or your family, particularly young children.
You might not worry too much about that bottle of liquid lawn fertiliser or on-the-spot weedkiller, or that two-litre tin of paint stripper or white spirit, but these are all hazardous chemicals that in the wrong hands (children’s hands in particular), could cause serious burns or poisoning.
So, to be on the safe side, ensure that any chemicals stored in your garage, whether they’re considered hazardous or not, are kept out of the reach and sight of children, possibly on a high shelf, or for added security, in a locked but ventilated cabinet, that only trusted adults have the key to.
You might have noticed we didn’t use the word ‘safely’ in the heading for this tip. Of course, safety has to be your prime concern when storing power tools in your garage, but by storing your power tools 'properly’ in all respects, your garage workshop will be a happier place.
But, how do you store power tools properly, especially when they’re all different shapes and sizes, and when you require each tool to be handy when you need to use it? To help you overcome your power tool storage issues, we’ve put together this short list of tips –
This is probably the most basic and the most important rule when it comes to storing power tools in your garage – keep them dry. Basically, that means not leaving them where even the tiniest amount of moisture collects, keeping them in their intended carry case when you’re not using them, or storing them in a locked cabinet off the ground.
If you’re a really keen DIYer, one of the best ways to store your power tools in your garage, so that they’re always to hand, is by creating a pegboard system, which is simply a board secured to the wall with dowels tapped in to create a specific shape able to fit and hang individual power tools.
Just remember that however you choose to hang your power tools, make use of the handles and don’t hang them by the cables, as the electrical connection isn’t designed for the stress caused by supporting their own weight and could loosen and create an electrocution hazard.
Many modern power tools are powered by rechargeable batteries, but if you’re going to store these batteries in your garage, remember that they are sensitive to temperature changes, and if they get too hot or too cold, their lifespan may be reduced.
So, if your garage isn’t very well insulated and is susceptible to extremes in temperature, it’s probably best to store rechargeable batteries in your house or change your old garage doors to modern insulated garage doors, which is possible regardless of whether you have hinged garage doors or sectional garage doors.
If you’re an avid gardener, you’re probably going to have a collection of sharp tools kept in your garage, such as shears for hedge trimming and pruning, rakes, manual aerators, edge cutters, and even spades. All of these tools must be stored safely to avoid accidental injury.
A great way to keep these tools safely out of harm's way, is to invest in a garage slatwall storage system. Usually made from PVC, slatwall panels consist of horizontal slats with removable hooks, that can be clipped at various points to hold all sorts of equipment, such as sharp garden tools.
Many injuries that happen in garages are a result of trips and slips, most of which are easy to avoid if you keep the garage workspace clear. This means rigorously maintaining a clear space around any workstations, cleaning up spillages immediately, and not storing more than you need.
Not only does clutter in your garage make it almost impossible to find something when you need it, an over-cluttered garage full of boxes, crates, bags of clothes or other items also becomes a fire hazard. So, if your garage has become a temporary rubbish tip, set aside some time to clear it out.
Garage safety isn’t just about the space inside the garage. Garage doors, whether side-hung garage doors, wooden garage doors or electric garage doors, all pose safety risks if proper care isn’t taken.
To help you improve safety around your garage door, we’ve put together a short list of garage door safety tips that all garage owners should consider to help keep themselves and their family safe from injury.
This is quite an obvious one, but it’s surprising how many people injure themselves by getting their fingers trapped in a garage door's moving parts, especially low-quality garage doors that don’t have safety features fitted to prevent accidents such as these.
Remember when you were a child, and how you would’ve loved to have had a play with a remote-controlled garage door? Sadly, accidents happen this way – so keep any remote controls either on your keyring, or in a safe place out of the reach of inquisitive children.
We’re not talking about night classes, just gaining a basic understanding of how your garage door operates. This is so you have a better idea of what to do in the event of a safety issue arising, such as a trapping incident, a component coming loose, or if you get trapped inside.
In the heat of the moment when you’re carrying armfuls of shopping, or it's pouring down with rain, it’s easy to tap the remote of your garage door and let it do its thing. But, when you do tap the remote, always make sure the area around the moving garage door is clear of small children and pets.
Whether you have a garage shutter door, a side-hinged garage door, or an up-and-over garage door, regularly inspecting it for wear and tear or visual damage is essential for maintaining safety. Your inspection should include:
If you’re looking for high-quality hinged garage doors, or any other type of garage door in the UK, contact Garage Doors Ltd, one of the UK's leading garage door suppliers, installers and repair and servicing specialists.
