The Emergency Departments of hospitals around the world treat thousands of patients suffering from burn injuries every year. Burns are the most common cause of these injuries, usually caused by hot fluids, and most often involve children.
It is, therefore, vital that people who work in the kitchen learn how to avoid burns in the kitchen. The following are 10 tips that you need to keep in mind when working in the kitchen to prevent burns.
10 Tips For Avoiding Kitchen Burns
- Regularly Inspect Your Smoke Alarms
During the installation of your smoke detectors, you should install them in different areas of your house. Replace the batteries in your electronic devices immediately if necessary. Test your batteries at least twice a year. When you replace your batteries after setting your clocks back for Daylight Savings Time, this is a good way to remember.
- Have Your Kitchen Inspected By A Gas Engineer?
Most of the people working in the kitchen are not technical experts. You may never know if any gas appliance is faulty or not even if you do know you don’t know how to fix it. There may be sometimes gas leakage in your main gas pipeline as well which you may come to know if your gas bills come higher than expected.
You must have your home inspected by a gas safety engineer to get over this diasaster. This should be done annually by your local gas supplier. Schedule an appointment and let them inspect your home for any faulty appliance or gas leakage. Ask them to issue a gas safety certification so you can be sure there are no issues in your house.
- Set The Temperature Of Your Hot Water Heater Correctly
It is important to lower the temperature of your hot water heater to 48-50 °C in order to avoid scalding. Having hot water that is hotter than this coming from a kitchen faucet may result in burning. Furthermore, this temperature is dangerous, particularly if there are children present.
- Wear Fitted Clothes And Tie Your Hair Back
This is a useful tip for women working in the kitchen. Please be sure your hair is not lying flat, exposed to any heat or flame, or hanging down to the ground.
Moreover, you seem to have clothes that fit quite well to your body. As the clothing hangs closer to heat sources than the rest of the body, baggy or lose garments are prone to igniting.
- Wear The Appropriate Protective Equipment
This is an important tip for kitchen workers who work at big restaurants and hotels. Workers in the kitchen are far too often relying on hand towels to handle hot pots and pans rather than protective gloves.
Owners should ensure employees are always able to access equipment at any time. This is to protect their hands from burns or scalds, but it is also to allow them to grasp hot containers more easily. It is important as well to wear special protective gear when handling deep-fried food.
- Provide Easy Access To Fire Extinguishers
It is essential to have access to a fire extinguisher in any kitchen, whether it is a residential or commercial environment.
As the name implies, fire extinguishers use chemical foam to extinguish fires and prevent them from obtaining oxygen. Small fires can be prevented from becoming larger when fire extinguishers are used.
- Avoid Contact With Hot Oil
The heat of air bubbles will cause them to pop, and if the bubbles are in oil, the oil will “pop” and shoot out hot bits. There is a chance that the oil can jump onto your arm, your hand, your face, or your clothes if you stand too close.
- Keep An Eye On The Stove Or Oven At All Times
A lot of kitchen fires are caused by unattended stoves or ovens that are left on while they are in use. When using appliances such as these, be sure to keep an eye on them, and stay in the room while cooking.
- After Using A Heating Equipment, Turn It Off Immediately
Stove burners, irons, curling irons, and other items such as those used in cooking tend to heat up for a long time. Instruct others to be extra cautious when handling the devices after using them, and turn them off immediately after use.
- Teach Your Family Members On How To Cook Properly To Prevent Burns
If you want your household to be safe from stove top burns, you must ensure everyone knows not to touch the stovetop. On a ceramic stove, it can be particularly difficult to determine whether the surface is hot or not.
To prevent pots and pans from falling off the stove top, educate family members about how to handle those items properly. Keep children and adults away from the stove when it is on while wearing loose clothing. Open and remove items from the oven with oven mitts at all times.
Final Thoughts On Avoiding Burns In The Kitchen
Kitchen burns happen by accident. You should always be prepared and have knowledge beforehand to prevent it at all costs. If by accident you get your skin gets burned immediately rush to the nearby emergency department of a hospital.
We hope these 10 tips prove to be a useful resource for those who work in the kitchen be it is at home or a restaurant.
