Home Furniture Safety Tips

Home Furniture Safety Tips To Help Protect Your Family From 
By Bridget Mwape, Fri Dec 9th 
Thousands of People are treated annually for injuries associatedwith furniture. The majority of these injuries and deaths are tochildren. Here are tips you may use to make your householdenvironment safer for yourself and your family.

1. Falls are a leading cause of injuries and deaths in the home.To lessen the likelihood of falls, eliminate clutter, be surerugs have slip-resistant pads, keep electrical cords out ofwalkways and clean up spills immediately.

2. Position or Place furniture in low-traffic areas such ascorners and sections of the room, out of the range of mobilityso that people do not accidentally run into furniture. 

3. Shelves should be strategically placed in bedroom and livingroom areas to limit reaching. They should be low enough to avoidusing a step stool but all items should be at eye level in orderto find them easily. 

4. Make sure furniture is stable and without sharp corners, ifpossible. This will minimize the chances of injury.

5. Make sure that furniture surfaces are smooth and free ofsplinters or rough edges. Nails, screws and other joiners shouldbe tight and unexposed. 

6. Be careful not to overload the shelves on bookcases. In somecases, it may be a good idea to secure the top portion of theunit to the wall to prevent it from tipping over, especially ifchildren are present in the home.

7. Use the correct size furniture to house your television.Because of their weight, especially the popular larger models,TVs can fall forward if they are not properly supported. 

8. Place TVs on lower furniture, as far back as possible. Useangle-braces or anchors to secure furniture to the wall.

9. Make sure that lids have safety latches that prevent the topfrom falling freely or slamming shut on fingers or a child'shead. Lids also should not lock automatically. If you have anolder chest without safety latches, it is recommended that youcontact the manufacturer for a replacement latch or remove thelid.

10. Arrange furniture so that outlets are available for lampsand appliances without the use of extension cords. If you mustuse an extension cord, place it on the floor against a wallwhere people cannot trip over it. Remove cords from underfurniture or carpeting and replace damaged or frayed cordsimmediately.

11. Remove rugs and runners that tend to slide. Applydouble-faced adhesive carpet tape or rubber matting to the backsof rugs and runners. Purchase rugs with slip-resistant backing.

12. Lamps or switches located close to each bed will enable youto get up at night and see where you're going. Rearrangefurniture closer to switches or move lamps closer to beds.Install night lights where possible.

13. Never allow children under 6 years-old on the upper bunk ofa Bunk bed. Bunk beds should have guardrails on each side of thetop bunk, with the side against the wall or opposite the ladderrunning the full length of the bed.

14. It's a good idea to check periodically to make sure allscrews, bolts, brackets and other joiners on your furniture aretight and secure.

15. To prevent tempting your children to climb on furniture, donot place enticing objects on tops of tables, dressers orbookcases.

16. You should not place furniture near windows where childrencan climb or fall out.

When shopping for home furniture, choose quality furniture thatis not only comfortable and beautiful, but safe as well. 

About the author:Bridget Mwape writes for the Designer Furniture website at http://www.designer-furniture.org.uk/ and also contributesarticles and product reviews at http://www.fine-furniture.org.uk/ regularly.