Kitchen Safety Tips, Safe Kitchen Indian Woman, Kitchen Safety with Kids, Toddlers, Safe Kitcgen Habits, keep Kitchen Safe children, women, ladies, female
1. Make sure all wires, cords and plugs on your appliances are not frayed and that the plugs have 3-prong grounded connections. This would include coffee makers, toasters, blenders, microwaves, mixers, etc.
2. Don’t use extension cords. You can obtain a junction box that has built-in GFI (ground fault interrupters). This will allow you extra plug in space and the GFI will kick in if there is a power shortage. Helps avoid water/electrical shock accidents.
3. Get rid of any appliance that is broken or damaged. New ones are very inexpensive these days. If a new one would bust your budget, try garage and tag sales (just make sure you’re not buying somebody else’s broken appliance).
4. Put a childproof lock not only on the cabinets with your medicines and cleaning supplies, but also your oven.
5. Don’t leave the kitchen with pots & pans cooking on the stove. Make sure to turn off burners as soon as you take the pot off.
6. Avoid wearing inappropriate clothing while cooking. That means loose sleeves and sweaters.
7. Keep dish towels, pot holders and oven mitts away from the stove.
8. Keep matches and lighters in high places where curious little hands can’t reach them.
9. If using candles in the kitchen, don’t leave the room (or home) while they’re burning. Make sure they are in a safe place and are in flame proof containers.
10. Check furniture, curtains, dish towels, etc. to be sure they are not blocking heaters or vents.
11. Keep a fire extinguisher in or near the kitchen, but not near the stove or the heater.
12. In case of a grease fire, salt and/or baking soda will help if you do not have a fire extinguisher.
13. Keep emergency numbers handy – 911 is easy to remember, but phone numbers to Poison Control might take longer.
14. Scalding is one of the most common injuries in the kitchen. Make sure to turn pot handles away from the front of the stove and away from little curious hands.
15. Scalding can occur from hot steam as well. Be careful when lifting lids from hot food (including opening that hot bag of microwave popcorn)!
16. Handling Knives: (a) Always cut away from your body when using a knife. It can slip and cut you, (b) Always use a cutting board, (c) Protect your counter tops, (d) Keep blades sharp, (e) Keep knives clean (including handle) – slippery handles can cause injuries, (f) Don’t put knives in a sink of soapy water – they may not be seen and accidents can occur, (g) Wash and dry carefully keeping sharp edge away from your hands, (h) Always lay them flat, never on the back or edge, (i) Don’t attempt to catch a knife as it falls – better it hits the floor than cut your hand, (j) Wash knives with warm soapy water after each use.
17. Be sure appliances are unplugged before touching sharp edges (blenders, can openers, mixers, etc.).
18. Never stick a fork in a toaster to retrieve trapped toast – you may get shocking results.
19. Always be sure the blender is unplugged before touching the blades.
20. Be careful about sharp edges: scissors, broken glass, potato peeler, etc.
21. Never ever, ever leave cooking foods unattended – not even for a minute.
22. Casualness causes casualties – don’t answer or talk on the phone while cooking – you can be distracted and injuries can result.
Other Tips
• Make sure the temperature in your refrigerator is 40 degrees or under. Get a good thermometer for the fridge, keep it in there where you can see it, and check it often.
• Keep shrimp, lobster, oysters and such in the refrigerator on ice. Ideally, put the seafood on top of the ice, and the ice in a colander or other bowl with holes in it so that when the ice melts it can drain into another container.
• When you want to refrigerate a hot dish, first leave it for a bit in a cool spot with the lid ajar so that it can cool down before you put it in the refrigerator. If you put a hot dish in before it cools, it will warm up the refrigerator, endangering everything else in there.
• A soon as you have served a stuffed bird such as a turkey, remove the stuffing that is left in the bird so that it can cool down faster.
Chemicals
In addition to the foodstuffs, there are a lot of chemicals in the kitchen compliment. Here are some that are pertinent to safety:
• Drain cleaners, bleaches and strong acids can be dangerous. Never mix different types of these products, explosions or dangerous gasses may result. Make sure these are always used strictly according to the directions on the package, and make sure that the containers are properly sealed when not in use.
• Carbon monoxide results from incomplete burning of fuel. Monoxide poisoning can result from improperly adjusted or poorly vented gas appliances. Have your's professionally checked occasionally. Also, never use charcoal briquettes or the like to cook or heat indoors.
• Volatiles, such as cleaning fluids, gasoline, kerosene and such are often flammable, can easily cause fires and explosions, and should never be stored in a kitchen.
• Pesticides such as bug killers, roach poison and rodent bait should be considered dangerous. If you get them on your hands, wash them off. When you use them, make sure there is no uncovered food they can get into. Be sure they are not accessible to children or pets. Store carefully, and preferably not in the kitchen.
• If you must store cleaning chemicals and other possibly toxic non-food items in the kitchen, always store them on shelves below foodstuffs, so if they leak, they can't get into your food.
Slips and Falls
Soapy water, grease and oils, and things like the traditional banana peel are standard in kitchens and are all slippery. Here are a couple ways to keep slips and falls to a minimum.
• If you spill something on the floor, clean it up. Keep a mop or such handy for this purpose.
• Often when you are working in the kitchen you are moving fast. Don't leave boxes, stools, bags of groceries or anything else out on the floor where they can trip up a fast moving cook.
• Glazed floor tile is beautiful, but dangerous. Not only does glazed tile guarantee that anything breakable that is dropped on it will break, but a thin coating of oil or soapy water can make it slick as ice. If you have a choice, avoid glazed tile for kitchen floors.
Safety around Kitchen Electricity
Keep your eyes on the electricity in your kitchen, it can electrocute you, or burn your place down if it gets loose.
• Keep an eye on all electrical cords. Watch for any breaks or cuts, or frayed areas where the cord passes over an edge or something has sat on it. Repair any damage you find.
• Don't overload circuits by using multiple plugs, extension cords or the like. If you have old wiring, it is often a good idea to get it checked by a professional for load carrying capacity.
• Don't use appliances near the sink or other water. If one falls in, it can electrocute anyone nearby. If you must have a wall socket near the sink, make sure it has a "Ground Fault Interrupter" type socket assembly.
Glass Utensils on Kitchen Burners, Explosion Danger
Something I hadn't heard of before was recently brought to my attention. I have always been wary of glass utensils over fire, but Paul Griffo says they can go off like a grenade if really badly treated. To quote him:
"It happened while we were on vacation in Florida. Our condo had electric burners. Someone left an empty glass casserole dish on the burner, which was accidentally left on. A little while later, BOOM! Thank God no one--especially none of my children--were standing close by."
Has anyone else had this happen? Thanks to Paul for the "Heads up".
Hot Glass Utensils Can Break, Wet Hot Pads Can Burn.
Here are a couple more possible hazards. The first I haven't experienced, but could spread boiling liquids around. The second I have had happen and it can really hurt.:
