Understanding The Basics Of Garage Safety

Whether your car is on the road or inside the garage, your first concern is Safety. While the former is taken due care of, the later is most often not given due attention as demanded by it. Besides housing the car, the available space is utilized for storing assorted hazardous substances like fertilizers, insecticides, gasoline, tools and implements, flammable substances, cans, and bottles.

Consequently, dangers and hazards are invited for your car, your kids, pets and all those who enter into your garage. It is therefore essential that you understand the basics of garage safety. The following are the essential tips in this context.

1. Unmarked Stairs

If the stairs in your garage are not marked, chances of slips and falls increase significantly. Put strong handrails on both sides of the stairs and put reflective tape on the edges of steps, so that they can be seen, both day and night.

2. Chemical Clutter

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Sometimes you may store the automotive fluids, paint thinner, or paints in a haphazard way. Worse is if you keep harsh chemicals in old food containers or soda bottles. Some chemicals may erode the mismatched containers and cause leakage of fumes or liquids that may cause accidental poisoning of pets, burns, fire hazards or respiratory problems.

3. Safety of Fire Hazards

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In case you are going to take up the painting work of one or two cars inside the premises of the garage, you must extinguish all flames; including the pilot lights before you start spraying. The natural gas water heater is the best example of pilot light. If you don’t extinguish them, the atomized paint can explode by coming in contact with an open fire, and the flame can quickly spread inside or even the outside spaces.

4. Safety of Jack Backup

Even if you use a hydraulic bottle jack or a floor jack, you can’t be 100% sure of the safety. Therefore, if you are working under your vehicle, supplement the jack with a set of high-quality ramps or a good quality axle stand.

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5. Safety related to CarBattery

The battery contains toxic fumes and extremely explosive acid. When you are charging the batteries on a work bench, you should be alert to the sparks and open flames; even from the live cigarettes. The acid may be scattered on you if it explodes.

6. Safety against Burn Prevention

The radiator of your car is under the high pressure of 15 psi, and the temperature may rise above 123 degrees Fahrenheit. In case you crack open the radiator cap, the hazardous content of the radiator may fall upon you. Therefore, allow the temperature to cool down naturally to a lukewarm level.

For opening the cap, make use of a soft towel. If you find any steam dissipating, wait for some time before you start to open the cap.

7. Leaning Ladders

A vertically leaning ladder may tip in and damage your car or may even hurt the passerby. Moreover, finding it vertically stand in, children may be tempted to climb on it or play on the rungs. Therefore, always keep the ladder in its horizontal position, leaning against the wall. You may also hang it on the wall. Take care to hang the rakes, brooms, and loose garden tool on the wall, so that they are above the floor.

8. Ineffective Lighting

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Although your garage has a tight space and tripping hazards, inadequate lighting makes it a storehouse of the accident by slipping, sliding or dashing. For full illumination of the garage, put additional fixtures of light on work areas as well as on stairs. Use bulbs of highest wattage and protect them with metal or metal cage guards.

9. Vulnerable Entryways

Don’t keep the garage opened or unlocked because teens tend to intrude into the garage in search of beer or chemicals they can inhale. Therefore, secure the garage doors and windows by installing deadbolts. For a yet effective result, ensure that automatic doors are fitted with a device for stopping the door or reversing it when it contacts an object.

10. Miscellaneous Safety Measures

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Make use of drawer latches, cabinet, and electrical outlet cover and keep the hazardous substances and implement, safely locked:

Avoid leaving long ropes lying on the floor. Hang them on hooks
When the power tools are not in use, disconnect the same from plugs
Don’t dispose of piles of magazines, newspapers oily rags, old clothing inside the garage. Store the gasoline or flammable liquids sufficiently distanced from hot water heaters
Remove the door before storing discarded appliances

As a part of the garage safety, always go in for the best garage heater. The Heater Efficiency determines the quality and performance of a heater.

You can calculate the heater efficiency by following an actual calculation. If your energy bill is 7.53 cent per kWh and your consumption is 5000 watt, then 7.53 x 5kWx1 hours works out to 37.65 cents per running the heater.

Top-Rated Garage Heaters

The following are four garage heaters from which you can choose the best according to your needs and budget

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1. New Air G56

It is suitable for large space and can warm 560 sq feet. It can be permanently installed requiring on an outlet of 240V. Being made from steel, it is highly durable. It uses 5,600 watts of energy

2. New Air G73

Its effective warming area is 500 sq feet, and it raises the temperature to over 40 degrees. It can be mounted on wall and ceilings by a hanging bracket attached to it for the quicker setting. It consumes 5,000 watts.

3. Comfort Zone 7,500W, CZ230ER

It can heat an area covering up to 1250 sq. feet and consumes 7500 watts of heating power. It can be mounted on the ceiling and needs to be hardwired. It also uses 240V, so you will need a 240V outlet. It has a high-quality heavy gauge steel body and is commercial quality built.

By utilizing the remote control, you have the ability to modify the settings from afar, enabling you to customize your heating experience without the need to rise or disrupt your ongoing tasks.

4. Elevoke Space Heaters, 1500W

Although this is made for mostly indoor use, it may be helpful for those who only need a small area in the garage heated.

Small and lightweight, this heater can plug into a regular outlet and give you the heat that you want within 30 seconds of turning on.

It has a five-foot cord and built-in high-temperature protection, which automatically shuts down when the heater overheats, avoiding any fire hazard.

When it comes to the safety of your car, you should give equal importance to the situations when it is on the road and also when it is inside the garage. If you take adequate safety measures for your garage safety, you are also ensuring safety for those that are connected to the garage in some way or other.