Did you know the garage area is one of a home’s most vulnerable yet neglected spaces? This revelation is shocking as many garages are housing cars and tools worth quite a lot. Most homeowners, if not all, use the space as a storage facility, which ensures their homes are free of clutter.
The garage space, housing things worth a lot of money, must therefore be given priority to ensure your items are safe and the owner is also safe when in the garage. This article will provide excellent tips for improving the safety of your Garage.
Table of Contents
Regular Maintenance of the Garage Door
Depending on the material used on your garage door, the door will most likely face issues with rust, cracks, gaps, and dents. These forces weaken your garage door, making it a safety hazard for you and prone to break-ins.
You must, therefore, ensure you regularly check your garage door to accord them the correct Maintenance, be it repair or replacement with new garage doors.
It will give you peace of mind about the safety of your items against burglars who look for weak spots on your garage door. Be sure to invest in a quality door and experts in installing or repairing your door correctly.
You must also ensure that you regularly grease the hinges to prevent rust and if your door is made of wood, coat it with oil that avoids ants of carpenter infestation, which may weaken it.
Keep it Tidy
Since garages are used as storage spaces for things you do not use often, it is usually easy to toss your tools and storage boxes chaotically. It should, however, not be so as the clutter becomes a potential trip and injury hazard.
You must therefore invest in storage shelves and cabinets to help you keep everything organized. Once you have installed them, categorize the things in your garage to check what should be kept and what needs to be disposed of.
Afterward, safely store the valuable stuff on the shelves systematically so you can navigate through and remember. Ensure your shelves and cabinets are well anchored, and do not overload them with things, as it will form another hazard.
Install Floodlights
Poor lighting makes the garage space a hazard for homeowners as they stumble over cluttered objects. It makes it hard to locate an item you may need and frustrates any organizing activities you may want to do. You must therefore invest in a proper lighting fixture that is uniform.
Proper lighting in your garage is an enemy of every burglar. However, it is rare to find garages well-lit, with most of them having flickering or not working bulbs that have not been fixed for years. It gives the burglar an excellent chance to hide in the shadows as they wait for the right moment to strike.
Lighting fixtures can be LED lights or bulbs that work with solar panels, guarantee energy use efficiency, and lower electricity costs.
Fire Safety
Garages are filled with chemicals, lubricants, and fuels stored for your vehicle. They are, however, hazardous as they are highly flammable.
You must ensure they are well stored in a high place that is out of reach for children. You must label them properly to prevent mishandling and clean any spillages you make as soon as they happen.
As a further precaution against the risk of fire, ensure that you store chemicals as far away as possible from electrical appliances and be sure not to overload electrical circuits with appliances.
Consider installing fire retardant wall and ceiling features and fire extinguishers in case of a fire. Ensure the extinguisher is located in a place that is easy to access. Consider having at least two fire extinguishers on various sections of your garage space.
Invest in Safety Features
Features such as carbon monoxide and heat detectors are excellent features that help prevent various hazards. The sensors are usually tiny and easily installed on the ceiling or walls. Most of them are connected to the homeowner’s phone, which allows potential risks to be taken care of before further damage happens.
You must also consider safety features for your garage door against burglars by setting smart locks and motion sensors that can be enabled remotely. These features will keep your items safe even when you are away from home.
Always search for the best systems available for the safety of your garage and Invest in quality systems that are responsive to the slightest detection and inform you in time.
Keep Sharp Objects Safely
Tools such as saws, screwdrivers, and pliers are dangerous to trip over. You must be able to store the tools properly to prevent accidents, especially if you have kids running around. To prevent this, you should ensure you put covers in sharp objects after using them.
Also, consider installing a pegboard to hold your tools. If the pegboard does not work for you, be creative to find what does work for you. For instance, have specific cabbies to store the tools.
You must never leave tools lying around after you work with them, and give them a good clean-up before storage. Remember also to unplug electrically run tools to prevent nasty accidents.
Child Safety Features
It is essential to keep your child away from the garage area. For this to happen, keep the door connecting your house and the garage area locked and install baby-proof features around the space.
If your child must enter the space, make sure you supervise their every move and keep them away from tall shelves and cabinets, and electrical appliances. You must also keep them away from the door to prevent them from getting hit if it accidentally opens.
Final Thoughts
Every homeowner must ensure you are safe inside your garage area. You must therefore be willing to invest in excellent safety features that will ensure the safety of everyone.
You must also be able to secure your garage against burglaries. Features such as proper lighting work well to ensure your safety in the garage and against burglars.