Safe and sound

Jagvir Goyal

Accidents can happen anywhere. Even within the boundaries of a house. A house owner should, therefore, always take a few precautions to make his house accident free. Let's have a look at a few ways to avoid accidents in your house.

Proper earthing

Only three-pin plugs and sockets should be used. Having an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) in the electrical system is always beneficial though it sometimes causes trouble during rainy season if the walls get damp. 

Prevent short circuits

Short circuits can cause fires that may prove fatal also. Short circuits should be avoided by using right-sized electrical wires for different appliances. These wires have proper insulation and IS marks. Right colour code of wires should be followed to avoid confusion and wrong connections at a later stage. Different countries use different colour codes for electrical wires. In India, red, blue and yellow colours are used for three phases while black colour is for neutral wire and green colour is for earth wire. Sockets shouldn't be overloaded with multi-plugs. Whenever you hear the sound of a spark behind an electrical switch plate, it indicates a loose wire connection that should be repaired immediately. Old and worn out wires should be got changed in old houses. Overloading of the electrical circuits should be avoided.

Use grip bars in bathrooms

To ensure safety of older family members, one should install grip bars in the bathrooms near the toilet seat and in the shower area. The position of grip bars should be decided as per convenience of the users. An older person may find it much easy to get up from the toilet seat by gripping the bar, installed on the wall to the left or right side of the seat. In bathing area, the grip bar should be installed at convenient height by keeping in view whether the shower is being taken by standing under the shower or by sitting over a stool. Grip bars help not only in getting up to a steady standing position but in avoiding slipping also.

Secure false ceilings

Most of the false ceiling designs involve use of wooden members which should be well secured to the false ceiling suspenders or RCC ceiling to avoid their coming off after some time. There have been cases where the POP work has come down crashing. This happens when proper bond between POP work and RCC slab is not provided by the false ceiling workers.

Provide safe railings

All railings, whether of staircase or the lobby well at first floor or in parapets, should be securely provided to sustain the load if someone leans over them. Often, these railings have stainless steel, glass and wooden members. The glass and wooden members should be well secured to avoid their coming off. 

Avoid leakage of cooking gas

Instead of keeping the gas cylinder below the kitchen countertop, plan a gas cylinder enclosure in the front or back courtyard area of your house where the gas cylinders can be safely stored and locked. Run a safe and heavy duty gas pipeline from the cylinder area to the kitchen countertop and provide it with a cut off valve in the kitchen. Get the pipeline and cut off valve checked against any gas leakage. Always keep handy a small but effective fire extinguisher. Install it near the kitchen area. Keep checking its expiry date and get it renewed from time to time.

Shun sharp-edged fittings

While selecting door and window fittings for your house, check that these don't have sharp edged corners. Pay special attention to the tower bolts which usually have sharp corners. 

The writer is former HoD and engineer-in-chief, Civil Engineering Department in a Punjab PSU