Simple But Life-saving Kitchen Changes

Your kitchen may well be worthy of a glossy magazine spread, but is it safe as well as stylish? Whether or not you have a young family or elderly people sharing your house, it’s important to ensure your kitchen is as risk-free as possible. After all, why put yourself in danger when preparing the day’s meals?

Make sure you read our top tips for a safer kitchen, then…

Use Knives Correctly

Alongside your oven and your stove top, your set of kitchen knives are potentially amongst the most dangerous items in the hub of the home. But you can minimise the risk to yourself and others by keeping in mind these top tips via the Health and Safety Executive site. They may be designed for people who work in the catering trade, but there’s a lot of sound advice within the article that everyone can benefit from; it includes:

– not leaving knives loose on worktop surfaces, since they can accidentally be pushed off

– not using a knife as a can opener

– not carrying knives while holding other objects.

Make sure you also select the right knife for the item you’re chopping; bread knives are meant for bread for a reason, while a steak knife is probably not the best at slicing veg.

Invest in Some New Chopping Boards

When it comes to chopping boards, two (or more) is certainly better than one. Reduce cross-contamination and the spread of harmful bacteria by making use of a selection of boards, if possible; buy one for fish, one for bread, one for meat, and another for veg. You can even buy colour-coded ones to help you keep them separate.

Turn Pan Handles Towards Your Splashback

Small kids in the house? It goes without saying that you shouldn’t leave hot pans unattended – but if you must (and you know your little ones can’t reach) turn the pan handles so they’re facing your splashback. It’s vital you don’t leave the handles hanging over the edge of the cooker, since small children can grab them, potentially pulling a hot pan of water over themselves. Be wary of things like spaghetti, too, which poke over the pan and might easily be reached by inquisitive little ones.

Test Your Smoke Detector

If you know your smoke detector is on the blink, isn’t it about time you changed its battery – or bought a new one altogether? The Fire Service site has some advice over here, which could help save a life.

Put a Cleaning Rota in Place

Increasingly busy lifestyles may mean we don’t always have the time we’d like to give our kitchens a deep clean – but it’s so important. So, put some time in your diary to put a cleaning rota in place, getting older kids involved in a few duties for some extra pocket money or additional time on their tablet or PC. After all, more bacteria thrive in the kitchen than in any other room in your house.

Banish bacteria by cleaning your space with a water and bleach solution as often as possible, wiping down sides, as well as your microwave, oven and stove top as you go.

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Until next time…