Redesigning your bathroom is always a good idea. Installing aesthetic tiles, a modern shower, an envious tub, or a wide vanity mirror gives your bathroom a new look and increases the value and appeal of your home. However, besides aesthetics, your bathroom needs to be safe and functional.
The bathroom is used every day; therefore, it is essential to ensure you and your family are safe from possible harm. How are you going to do that? Do you have to start a whole new bathroom renovation project? Although there may be a few tweaks here and there, there are simple and cost-effective ways of ensuring your bathroom is safe. Here are a few tips.
BE SURE ALL FIXTURES ARE CORRECTLY INSTALLED
Imagine your beautiful vanity mirror shattering into a million pieces and causing injury. How devastating that would be! However, it is not unlikely for this to happen. Be sure the various fixtures in your bathroom, such as towel racks, shelves, and mirrors, are correctly installed. As wear and tear may affect these fixtures, you should routinely check them by ensuring they do not wobble. You can also schedule periods where they are taken down and refixed- to avoid waiting till there’s an actual problem.
AVOID WATER ACCUMULATION ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR
After a refreshing shower or hot bath, it is not unusual for water to get splashed onto your bathroom floors. However, the problem comes when water is left to accumulate on the bathroom floor. Not only does this create an untidy bathroom space, but it also encourages the growth of mould and mildew and damages your flooring. Most importantly, wet floors increase the risk of a bathroom-related accident.
Therefore, be sure to clean your bathroom floors once they are wet. In addition, you might also want to consider replacing your bathroom floors with vinyl flooring. These are a practical flooring option as they are scratch and water-resistant, and easy to clean.
When it comes to bathroom floor safety, don’t forget about the finer details, too – like using the right grout sealer for floors to ensure the foundations are secure.
Finally, installing adequate and effective lighting illuminates your bathroom space and helps you clean water on your floors. Therefore, if necessary, install additional light fixtures to illuminate the bathroom space adequately. You should also consider purchasing light bulbs with extra lumens to reduce disorientation.
ADD RUG GRIPS TO THROW RUGS
Although bathroom throw rugs are great for soaking up water and make your bathroom design more appealing, they often create a safety hazard. Tripping over the corners of bathroom throw rugs can lead to serious injury for children and adults alike.
Instead of throwing them out, you should consider adding rug grips to the undersides of the rug. Rug grips are an inexpensive way of preventing expensive injuries while keeping your bathroom’s overall style and look. You can also consider using slip-resistant mats. As its name suggests, these rubber backing mats are designed to prevent slips and falls. Place them at the foot of your bathtub, or get slip-resistant mats with suction cups to prevent slipping and falling in the shower.
INSTALL GRAB BARS
Another bathroom safety precaution you should consider is placing grab handles in or around the bathtub, shower area, or toilet. These handles offer support as they give you something to hold on to if you lose your footing and prevent slipping and falling.
If you have older relatives in your home, this safety feature is vital. These sturdy bars allow them to move around the bathroom with ease. This, in turn, gives them privacy in the bathroom, as they do not need your help as much, so they can be alone. It also gives you peace of mind as you know their chances of being injured are significantly reduced.
PROPERLY STORE AWAY CLEANING PRODUCTS
Bathroom cleaning products are filled with active chemicals that are extremely dangerous to your health. In addition, some chemicals found in cleaning products are corrosive and cause significant harm to your skin. Therefore it is advisable to keep cleaning products in an allocated cabinet to prevent them from being mistaken. You must also ensure that these products are out of your curious children’s and pets’ reach as consumption of these chemicals could have dire effects.
PUT MEDICATION OUT OF REACH
Utilise your bathroom medicine cabinets to ensure safety. Children and pets are curious by nature and eager to grab anything that looks appealing and intriguing, like your medication lying around the sink. Adults may also be at risk from medication lying around as it can easily be mistaken for a generic medication.
Consuming unprescribed medication can lead to several issues, such as allergic reactions or overdose. Therefore, it is vital to store your medication safely. If you and other bathroom users have separately prescribed medications, store your medications in separate areas. It is advisable to keep over the counter “family” medications such as generic painkillers, vitamin supplements, and First Aid items in the medicine cabinet.
PLACE YOUR ELECTRONICS AWAY FROM WATER
Water and electricity do not complement each other. As you know, or should know, water is a conductor of electricity. This means that when the electricity comes into contact with water, it allows electrical currents to flow through, causing electrocution on anyone who comes into contact with it.
This can happen in your bathroom if you do not safely put away your gadgets. Be sure to use your electronics such as your hairdryer, straightener, curling iron, and electric razor in a dry area. It is advisable to allocate a floating shelf or a cabinet to store your electronics safely. Also, be sure to disconnect from their power source after use to avoid electrocution and prevent fire hazards.
It is crucial to ensure safety in every part of your home, and your bathroom is no exception. The tips mentioned above would ensure that your family avoids serious injuries, enjoys peace of mind, and saves money by implementing cost-effective measures to make your bathroom today. So, what are you waiting for? If your bathroom needs a safety makeover, it is never too late to give it one!