The kitchen is not a simple space in our home. It’s a place of a bond for a family. All the members of the family gather in a kitchen and explore their time, during dinner or breakfast. Parents share their memories and children talk about their adventure. But for some oblivious occurrence, a kitchen can become a nightmare for us. In this article, we will guide you about common kitchen hazards. It will help you reduce the hazardous incident and keep your family safe.
What are the common types of kitchen hazards? Below is the list of different kinds of kitchen hazards.
- Kitchen appliance hazard
- Lifting hazard
- Chemical hazard
- Biological hazard
- Slip-and-fall hazard
- Fire hazard
kitchen appliance hazard
There are various kinds of tools and equipment we use in our kitchen. Besides the commercial kitchen, our home kitchens are also full of different kinds of appliances. We live in the twenty-first century and our lives are very busy and loaded with work. We can not think of our life without different kinds of machines and equipment. But sometimes, for our ignorance and unawareness, hazardous occurrences may happen due to our kitchen appliances. But if we have a little knowledge and precaution, we can remarkably reduce the impact caused by the indecent.
Causes and safety tips for kitchen appliance hazard
- Always buy a good quality tool. Before buying any kind of tool you must consider the user’s review. Here is a good example of review on meat grinder for deer.
- After buying any kind of machine, read the whole manual book sincerely. If you don’t understand any point, call the customer service for help.
- In a commercial kitchen, always hire a professional employee who can run the machine perfectly.
- After using small appliances like toaster, panini press, rice cooker, blender, etc unplug them to avoid any kind of unpleasant incident.
- Don’t use one single electric socket for multiple appliances at a time.
- After using an appliance, always clean it rightly. Sometimes disinfect them as per the need.
- Use hand gloves, mask and safety glasses when operating a machine which can produce chemical or toxic gas.
- Keep the machines away from fire and water which are sensitive to these elements.
- Any kinds of appliances need preventive maintenance. Don’t use the partly broken or expired machines. Replace these as soon as possible.
Lifting hazard
There are a lot of activities happen in our kitchen every day. Lifting, shifting, and handling are very common daily activities for a kitchen. If it is a restaurant or a commercial kitchen, activities multiply by many times. Incautious activities may reason for an unwanted incident that may damage our lives or property. This is one of the very common kitchen hazards among us. To lower the probability of any unpleasant incident, we should take initiatives.
Cause and safety tips for lifting hazards
- At first, everyone should know their limits. Don’t do anything that is out of your range.
- Practice some rules of lifting. Try to handle the load with a good grip, always keep your back straight, take a good position, keep heads up and use your leg-strength for lifting.
- Clear the obstacle from your work-space.
- You can also try some tools for lifting. For your kitchen, you can try dollies or lifting belts. But in a commercial kitchen, you can use mini to large hand trucks or trolleys. For an even bigger kitchen, you can use heavy-duty trolleys, cart or vans, even trucks.
- Use a perfect ladder or step tool to reach the higher compartment of your kitchen
Chemical hazard
In our kitchen, we use many kinds of chemicals such as cleaning liquids, sanitizers, etc. If you don’t store or use these safely, it may also cause a severe accident. Although chemical hazard is not that much prevalent in common kitchen hazards, but we must not let it happen even once in our kitchen. Let us find the reason and safety tips of chemical hazards in below.
Cause and Safety tips for chemical hazards
- Don’t buy extra chemicals that you will not use shortly.
- Always keep chemicals out of the reach from children.
- Maintain a compartment in your kitchen dedicated to only chemicals.
- When you store your chemicals, pack tightly and label properly for identification.
- After using chemicals, wash your hand and the surface you have used it.
Biological Hazards
The kitchen is for food and food is for life. To live a healthy life, you should maintain food safety appropriately. Otherwise, microbial organism such as bacteria, amoeba may grow and cause serious health hazard. To avoid biological hazards, you can follow the below measures.
Safety tips for refrigerator and colder environment
We use the Refrigerator to keep our food fresh. It can become hazardous if we do not follow some simple rules. To avoid refrigerator food contamination, we should abide by the following tips.
- To avoid the growth of unwanted bacteria, always keep the refrigerator temperature below 40 degree Fahrenheit.
- If found any leakage, repair immediately.
- Do not directly store food which is warmer than environment temperature.
- Check the temperature regularly to make sure that the machine is working properly.
- Don’t overload any of your refrigerator compartments.
- Try to keep meat and fish in the lower compartment of your refrigerator. Otherwise, pack them tightly.
- Always use food containers having airtight lid when preserving food in the refrigerator.
Safety tips for oven and warmer environment
- Always keep the oven clean to avoid bacterial growth.
- Keep the hot food or pan away from children.
- Don’t store prepared food without a lid.
- Some sensitive food like salad and fresh juice must be consumed immediately.
- Be careful about the temperature of your food. Excessive hot or cold food should not be consumed.
- Sterilize your kitchen sponge from time to time. Microwave the slightly wet sponge for one minute. Keep it dry when storing.
Slip-and-fall hazard
This is a very common hazard in the kitchen. If we take some simple steps then we can reduce the accident remarkably.
- Clean kitchen floor properly. Oily, greasy, or wet floors are very prone to slip and fall.
- Repair the uneven or damaged floor.
- Use non-slip rugs.
- To reduce the possibility of stumbling keep any kind of cables away from your work way.
- Choose the best materials for your kitchen floor.
- You can also use non-slip shoes while working in the kitchen.
- When moving something, lock the lid tightly so that nothing overflows.
Tips for messy workplace
A messy or untidy workplace is always dangerous. In an unorganized kitchen, there are many kinds of incidents may occur. Below are some tips and tricks to avoid this situation.
- A kitchen is full of sharp and keen utensils. If you keep these here and there, an unpleasant occurrence may happen at any time. Keep them in an organized way to ensure your safety.
- Keep a certain item in a certain fixed place. It’ll help you find the item quickly when you need it.
- Always try to keep your countertop free. A decent countertop keeps your mind fresh and saves a lot of your time.
- Always maintain FIFO (first in first out) method when organizing your kitchen appliances.
- Keep the appliance at the proper place after use to avoid stumbling.
- Use the refrigerator and freezer as per proper instruction.
To maintain the kitchen storage perfectly, you can read my another article, kitchen storage.
Fire Hazard
This is the most dangerous incident that can occur in a kitchen.
- Don’t wear a loose dress, shawl or cape when cooking in the stove. Always wear a fitting apron and tie your hair up. You can also use a hair net.
- Don’t keep any kind of flammable chemicals or materials beside the stove.
- Follow electrical hazard security.
- Don’t keep the stove turn on when you are not cooking.
- Keep the electrical tools and instruments away from water.
- You must keep a handy fire extinguisher nearby the stove.
- Always check the electrical appliances. For any kind of damage, repair it immediately.
- Wear heat resistant gloves when cooking in fire or electric oven.
- Always monitor the temperature of your kitchen.
- Don’t overload the electrical socket.
- Last but not the least, use a fire alarm to save the loss of life and property.
Final Words
Although we must follow the above-discussed points in every aspect of life, many people overlook it. There are many unwanted incidents in the kitchen throughout the world due to ignorance and lethargy. This is the high time that we educate ourselves and act accordingly. We appreciate your participation. Please let us know if you have faced any common kitchen hazard in your life and what did you learn from that. Share the article with your beloved ones. Keep your kitchen safe and have a happy life.