Fall is quickly approaching. For many people, this is an exciting time of the year full of seasonal foods and new activities. For homeowners, autumn serves as a reminder of the yard work they must complete before the onset of winter. While necessary, yard work can turn dangerous if you don’t follow proper safety rules. It’s important to perform the tasks with care to ensure your safety. There are various health risks related to gardening, ranging from physical overexertion and sunburns to serious injuries from the improper use or maintenance of power equipment. Take a look at our home maintenance safety tips to ensure you’re prioritizing your safety this fall.
Dress Appropriately:
While prioritizing home maintenance safety during the fall, be sure to avoid wearing loose clothing and jewelry that can get caught in equipment. Long pants, long sleeves and sturdy footwear (safety boots) with non-slip soles can help guard against falls or dropped objects. You should always wear eye protection, work gloves and hearing protection when working with loud or power equipment.
Power Tools and Equipment:
Before you use your mower, trimmer, blower, power washer, chainsaw, pruner or another piece of outdoor power equipment, it’s important to refresh yourself on the handling and safety procedures. Take the time to do regular inspections and maintenance to ensure your equipment operates safely and is ready for the job.
- Injury can happen when a lawnmower slips or overturns on a slope or on wet grass or when rocks and debris fly out from underneath.
- Injuries are often caused by falls from a ride-on lawnmower, frequently due to more than one person riding on it.
- When equipment clogs or jams, be sure to unplug/disable it before clearing the issue and beware of stored tension that may remain in equipment after a jam that can cause parts to move unexpectedly when the obstruction is cleared.
- Electric shock is potentially dangerous when operating tools with frayed cords or in wet conditions. Use a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to guard against electrical injury.
- Excessive noise from power garden equipment can gradually cause permanent hearing loss and the inability to hear warning sounds.
Respect Heights:
Be careful when working at heights, whether painting, cleaning gutters, caulking windows, or hanging holiday decorations. When ensuring your safety while performing home maintenance, you must remember that many common injuries occur from standing on a level higher than safely indicated or failing to ensure the base is stable before climbing correctly. If it feels like you are stretching safety limits, you likely are. Stop and find a safe way to complete the task, even if it means hiring a professional.
Overexertion
Working in the lawn or garden when you’re worn out can lead to mental mistakes that cause injuries. It is important to take time out to rest and hydrate. In order to understand how to preserve fall home maintenance safety, you must keep these thoughts in mind:
- Repetitive strain injury can result from doing one task for too long.
- Muscle strain, back injuries and blisters can be caused by moving a greater weight than your body can handle, bending, and improper use of garden tools.
- Dehydration can occur if you don’t take in enough liquid, especially water when you exert yourself.
- Over-exposure to the sun can cause sunstroke, sunburn and skin cancer over the long term. Be sure to wear sunscreen even on cloudy days
The Importance of Protection Equipment:
Unfortunately, even when the utmost care is taken accidents can still happen while doing September yard work. Decrease the odds of accidental death and dismemberment by wearing safety equipment and proper PPE. No one expects an injury doing home maintenance, but you can invest in coverage for yourself and your family in the event of a serious accident. Protection equipment is your best bet at preserving home maintenance safety, and potentially saving your own life.
Hudson’s Bay Financial Services is proud to partner with Chubb Life Insurance Company of Canada (Chubb Life) to provide our customers with the best possible Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance. Chubb provides insurance in 54 different countries with thousands of Canadian customers covered under their Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.
This September, give yourself peace of mind while doing yard work, knowing that your life, livelihood, and safety are in the hands of insurance professionals. Ensure that in the event of a serious accident resulting in accidental death or dismemberment, your household is covered financially.
✓ No medical questions or health exams are required
✓ Coverage is guaranteed for everyone under the age of 75
✓ Benefit paid in addition to other insurance
✓ Exclusively available from Hudson’s Bay Financial Services
Get a Free Insurance Quote.
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Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance is arranged by Hudson’s Bay Financial Services and underwritten by Chubb Life Insurance Company of Canada (“Chubb Life”). Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance is currently not available in Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Complete details of coverage, including definitions of covered accidents and any limitations or exclusions that apply, are set out in the Policy.
1) Earn 1,000 Hudson’s Bay Rewards points when you obtain a one-time, no-obligation Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance quote; 2,000 Rewards points upon approval; and 4,000 Rewards points annually when you use a valid Canadian credit card to pay your premiums.
Each Hudson’s Bay Rewards points offer is limited to one Hudson’s Bay Rewards account per household.
Hudson’s Bay Rewards points will be issued within four to six weeks.
This offer cannot be combined with other offers and may change without notice.