Tips and hints for safe DIY this Easter

Feb. 19, 2010 - PRLog -- According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) more accidents happen at home than anywhere else. Many of these accidents happen while home owners are attempting DIY improvements or alterations, with a high proportion of those casualties occurring over the Easter weekend. Hardly surprising given a study in 2009 found over a third of Britons planned DIY jobs during the Easter holiday!

Ladders, knives and drills top the list of the items most likely to cause injury during DIY, but seemingly innocuous materials also have their hidden dangers: in 2005 3,000 people were injured in accidents involving glue, and 1,500 let wallpaper get the better of them. Even more surprising, a 2009 poll found that one in ten adults hurt themselves putting up flat pack furniture!

DIY can indeed be very dangerous if you don’t take due care and attention, but if you follow the simple advice below, you will help prevent accidents this Easter.

When using a ladder always situate it in the best position and lock it into its correct position before you step up. Never lean a ladder on guttering or windowsills. Falls from ladders have caused many nasty injuries that take a while to recover from.

Preparation is essential to avoiding accidents, and cutting corners raises the risk of having the accident you want to avoid. Whilst it may be tempting to dive into DIY, always read the instructions and warnings before using tools and DIY equipment to prevent avoidable accidents.

Where possible, remove loose clothing and jewellery to prevent these becoming caught, wear suitable footwear to prevent a nasty slip, and turn off the electricity at the mains before attempting any electrical job for obvious reasons!


Please note that the above article was written on behalf of Prudential and Prudential does not control and cannot guarantee its relevance, timeliness, or accuracy. The views expressed in this article are not the views of Prudential.

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Here at Prudential, house insuranceproviders to the UK, we know all about DIY accidents. We’ve hit our fingers with a hammer, cut our hands on sharp tiles and even dropped a brick on our foot! And we have paid out household insurance claims in the case of DIY accidents. http://www.pru.co.uk