When you decorate your beach condominium, in addition to make it reflects your sense of style, function, comfort, and personality, you need to make sure that your home provides safety factors that can improve activities of your daily living and reduce unintentional injuries and accidents in your home. Simple, thoughtful designs can turn your beach condominium home into a supportive environment that ensure safety and promote an overall sense of well-being. Learn how to identify, modify, and maintain a safe home environment for you and your family so you can stay healthy and active. The following tips can help you keep your beach condominium a safe haven.
- Lighting: Proper lighting throughout your beach condominium is essential. Install bright lights and use the light switch plates that are lighted or glow in the dark. Rocker switches with dimmers make it easy to control lighting and reduce glare for more appealing ambience with a quick turn of a knob. Make sure that you have plenty of light sources in your home such as wall lamps, ceiling fixtures, table lamps for different lighting tasks. Use the right type and correct wattage bulbs for all lamps and light fixtures. Use night-lights in bedroom, hallway, and bathroom.
- Electrical: In most high rise buildings such as your beach condominium, the electrical breaker boxes are already grounded. A breaker switch is an electrical safety device designed to turn itself off if too much electrical current flows through it. All other wired electrical appliances such as warm or hot water heater and electric stove, oven, or washing machine need to be properly grounded too.
- Bathroom: Make sure your bathroom is well lit. Bathroom floor can be dangerous especially when things are wet. Install handrails in your bathroom for bathtub, in the shower, and near the toilet. Put non-slip bath or shower mat to help keep you from slipping. Use lever-style handles on doors and faucets for easy access.
- Living Room: Arrange furniture to make it easier and safer to move around. Also, something as simple as the color of paint on the walls can make a significant difference in your mood and sense of well being. Make it a pleasant shade.
- Kitchen: Store items you use frequently within easy reach to avoid using stepstools or stepladders. Don’t store things too high or too low. Stay by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food. Use back burners and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove. Always wipe spills when they happen. Electric appliances make life easier; to ensure safety, unplug toaster oven, coffee makers, and other small appliances after each use and keep them dry and away from water at all times.
- Stairs: If your beach condominium has stairs, make sure the stairs and walkways are clear from objects that may cause you to trip over such as shoes or potted plants. Make sure the stairway is well lighted. Always use the handrail for support.
- Bedroom: Avoid using loose rugs in the bedroom entirely. But if you like area rugs, make sure they have nonskid backing to prevent tripping. If you have allergies, along with vacuum with a vengeance, keep your windows closed all the time. Install weather stripping on the door to prevent bugs, dust mites, smoke and other irritants from floating into your bedroom. You will sleep better.
- Storage: Put away items that are usually on the floor such as shoes or magazines in their proper place can prevent accidental tripping and reduce visual clutter. Store medicine, cleaning liquids or powders in child-proof locked cabinet. Do not use mothballs (Naphthalene) in your home; they are toxic to humans. Use easy access drawers and storage.
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