Cooking Safety Tips for Your Home

Many home accidents occur in the kitchen. It’s understandable, with all of the sharp utensils and hot stovetops. Fires are also a more rare, but not unheard of, occurrence. However, there are several easy steps that you can take to make sure that your kitchen stays injury-free:

Don’t leave dangerous foods unattended

Oil and grease are notorious for causing fires in the blink of an eye. If you’re frying food, whether it’s in a deep fryer or in a pot on the stove, you should always supervise.

Keep the stove area clear of fire hazards

Pot holders, dish rags, plastic containers, and paper towels all pose a fire hazard. When you’re cooking, it’s all too easy to pick up one of these items and absentmindedly place it too close to the stove when you’re done. Make a point to keep any potentially dangerous items far away from the stovetop.

Watch the position of pots and pans

Small stovetops can get crowded quickly if you’re cooking several different foods at once. It’s very easy to leave the handle of a hot pan sticking off the front of the stove, where it can be bumped and knocked off the stove and onto you. Turn all pan handles towards the back of the stove so they won’t cause burns.

Dress appropriately

Long hair, shirt sleeves, and necklaces can all get caught on things and cause accidents. Wear appropriate clothing whenever you’re in the kitchen. Also, you should remove any rings when you’re cooking, for two reasons. First, a stone may dislodge and end up lost in the food you’re cooking. Second, since you likely wear your rings everywhere you go, they pick up a lot of germs, and it’s hard to get that completely clean. If you cook while wearing rings you can spread bacteria to your food.

Store dangerous items properly

Keep knives out of the reach of children. Prescription medicines, if kept in the kitchen, should be locked inside of a cabinet where they can’t be reached by anyone other than the person taking them. Household cleaners like bleach should also be locked away or kept on a high shelf away from kids. Talk to your kids about the dangers of misusing items in the kitchen.