Kitchen safety

My good friend told me few stories about accidents in the house, especially in the kitchen. I thought lot of people do not even think about it. I didn’t before I heard those stories. I am not going to go in detail, but I thought I share with you my views on safety.

Kitchens are fun! Cooking and creating whether you are old or young is always an experience. But whether you are baking a cake for the kids or creating a stunning 4-course meal for your in-laws, safety should always be your priority.

Think about it – Fire, Knives, Bacteria!

So many things can have a devastating effect on you if you’re not paying attention in the kitchen. So observing basic kitchen rules is a must if you want to keep you and your family safe from harm.

Now, we should all know that keeping knives out of the reach of children is probably a good idea unless you want a hasty trip to A & E and washing your hands before you handle food is something that we all do already (or at least you should be), but what about the more technical safety stuff like protecting yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning?

Would you have any idea where to start on that score?

Do you even know what it is?

If you have a gas or propane powered oven or a central heating boiler in your kitchen you should definitely take the time to try and understand what carbon monoxide (CO) is all about, because each of those things are a major source of the stuff and, if you didn’t know already, it kills you.

To be on the safe side (which is obviously where you want to be), you should install a CO alarm – available at a relatively low price from most DIY stores and some supermarkets – and make sure that it meets British or European safety standards.

What you should be doing is looking for alarms marked with the EN 50291 standard and make sure that it has a CE mark on it. You should be able to find these on the packaging and the product itself. If the marks aren’t there, do not buy the alarm! Simple.

Carbon Monoxide alarms should always be placed in rooms with fuel burning appliances. So this could be anywhere with a boiler, gas oven or a fire. Most kitchens have at least one of these appliances, so getting one up in your kitchen could save your life.

You’ve probably already thought about protecting yourself from fire and you’ve probably already bought a fire extinguisher in readiness, it’s probably time for you to do the same thing for carbon monoxide.

For more info on carbon monoxide poisoning, visit www.thesilentkiller.co.uk.

"You must not rely on the information in this post as an alternative to advice from an appropriately qualified professional. If you have any specific questions about you should consult an appropriately qualified professional."