Make a Splash with Bath Safety

January is National Bath Safety month, and we would like to recognize that by discussing some of the best ways you can protect yourself against the hazards in your home. According to the National Drowning Prevention Agency, an estimated 87 children die every year from drownings at home, of which two thirds of these incidents take place in the bath. Furthermore, 80% of falls suffered by adults 65 and older occur in the bathroom, which often cause serious injury or even death.

These statistics indicate to us that we should prioritize safety in our homes as much as we do in our workplaces. Here are a few of the most highly recommended solutions to the dangers of baths in the home:

Supervision

There are a great number of hazards in a bathtub for a young child, from slippery floors to hard and sharp metal faucets. The number one way to protect a child from these dangers is to keep an eye on them, so you can swoop in in case the child has any sort of difficulty. Drownings happen fast, so even just “stepping out for a second” can be a serious danger. If there are things with a time constraint that you need to do, it is better to bring them into the bathroom with you while your child is in the bath, rather than leaving them alone where they can be hurt.

Slips and Falls

Slips and falls impact adults as much as they do children, as the easy-to-clean surfaces inside a tub or shower are therefore extremely slippery, especially when wet. Installing non-slip mats or stickers in the bathtub or shower can help to protect people of any age from injuring themselves during a fall, and covering water faucets with cushioned covers will keep kids from hitting their heads, as they are smaller and more susceptible to falling on them.

Water Temperature

Water temperature is a largely overlooked aspect of bath safety, but very small children may not be able to tell you if the water is too hot or too cold. Water over 120 degrees can give a child burns, so it can be good to keep your water heater under that temperature so they do not get burned by hot water coming out of the faucet. Furthermore, it can be helpful to teach your child to only turn on the cold water tap first, to prevent these burns.

Medicine and Toiletry Storage

Most people store their medicine, makeup, cleaning supplies, and toiletries in the bathroom, and these things can be highly toxic or poisonous for young children. Even the shampoo and soap we keep in our bathtubs can be grabbed and consumed by a child left unsupervised in the bath. It is extremely important to store these, as well as sharp objects like razors, out of a child’s reach and in a closet or cabinet with a safety lock if they must be in the bathroom. Otherwise, they should be stored outside of the bathroom in a linen closet or kitchen cabinet.

Electrical Appliances

Many of the same rules apply to electrical appliances, which can be deadly when introduced to water. Keep appliances such as hair dryers or curling irons unplugged when not in use and store them in a high up, locked cabinet or closet.

Safety Handles

Don’t use towel racks as grab bars, as they cannot support your weight. You may need to look at images of both to be able to tell the difference. Safety handles in the shower can be very helpful for the elderly or those with disabilities, especially in the case of a fall or unsteady footing on slippery ground. Similarly, bath chairs or benches can help those who are unable to stand for long periods of time.

TapRooT® and Crafting Safe Systems

If you were reading through this and thought, “Wow, I never considered how many hazards there are in just my bathtub!” then I would love to personally welcome you to the world of Root Cause Analysis. TapRooT® RCA is our system that focuses on identifying overlooked and under-addressed workplace hazards, and helps you craft expert level solutions for them. We all have our own areas of expertise, and some of them are more useful in an incident investigation than others. TapRooT® helps you to access every area of expertise necessary to create long-lasting corrective actions.

If you are interested in learning more about what TapRooT® RCA can do for your company, click here to schedule a free executive briefing.

If you liked this article, and would like to read more like it, you can sign up for our newsletter here, and get a handpicked collection of our favorite articles in your inbox every week.