Is Your New Home KidSafe?

Stuart Zullo Casula real estate | Latest News | Real Estate Tips 19th January, 2012 No Comments
Just about to move? Build? Would you consider your new house “KidSafe”?
 
According to a recent article, thousands of burn-related injuries happen in Australian households every year that are completely preventable. Most of these injuries happen to small children or infants and are associated with water-temperature.
 
A new law was passed in 2003, which mandated that the hot water delivery in new or renovated homes was not allowed to exceed 50 C°. However the hot water storage and delivery temperature in older-style homes still remains up to a whopping 75 C°. Whilst it is important that water is stored at this temperature to prevent bacteria from developing, it is important that if you are moving into a house where this is the case, that you call a plumber to reduce the delivery temperature to 50C°. By doing this, you could save a child’s life, or at the very least, reduce the risk of a life-long burn or scald.
 
A few tips on keeping your children safe from burns around the home:
 
  1. Ensure that the delivery temperature of your water does not exceed 50C°.
  2. Supervise your children around barbeques, ovens, stoves and benchtops.
  3. Keep those saucepan handles well out the reach of prying fingers!
  4. Ensure that all hot drinks are kept well out of the way. Watch out for tablecloths, also.
  5. Run the cold water first and turn it off last, when bathing small children.
  6. Enrol in a first aid course to ensure that you can act at a second’s notice if an emergency occurs.
More information can be found at the Kidsafe website.