Safety in the kitchen
The modern kitchen is very well equipped, with specialized appliances to make our busy modern lives much easier and simpler. Even with all these advancements, there are hazards in the kitchen that we should all look out for:
- When frying something, the oil often spits dangerously and unavoidably out of the pan if very hot. This hot oil can not only burn you but if it lands on the floor it becomes very slippery and, if you ask any professional chef, extremely hazardous.
- If you are cooking flammable oils or fats on your stove it is very easy for the flame to transfer to the pan. There are a few important things you need to remember if you are dealing with a fat fire. Never put water on it and never use a fire extinguisher. The current recommendation from the UK fire service is simply to: "Get out, stay out, and call the emergency services"
- Modern gas stoves are fairly safe but still dangerous if not used correctly, the gas should always be switched off properly otherwise you may fill your home with highly explosive gas.
- Your detergents and chemicals should be kept in a clean dry environment and should never be mixed, combinations of even the most benign household chemicals have the potential to be very dangerous, even lethal. These chemicals should be clearly labelled in order to avoid confusion and accidental consumption.
- Installation of an extractor fan is a good idea; it will reduce the build up of toxic fumes in your kitchen environment.
You should also choose the right colour to reflect the mood and the décor of the room you are decorating. For example if you were decorating a minimalist dining room, you would want to use cool, light colours to complement the style of the room, not warm hard colours. Warm colours like burgundy and ochre are nice for living rooms, creating a denser more homely feeling.
If you have the resources it is an excellent idea to get small samples of paint so that you can actually test what the colours look like on your walls. Often the colours on the tin vary greatly from the colours on your wall, due to lighting and the surfaces on which the paint is applied.
It is also a good idea to measure your walls carefully, figuring out the area you want to paint so that you know exactly how much paint you will need to cover all the surfaces. This will save extra trips to the paint shop.
You also need to think about the surface that you are painting and the type of paint that you use. Damp proofing paints are good for areas that have a lot of moisture in your home, porous paints will not last long at all in damp areas. Enamel based paints are much stronger and should be used in areas that experience a lot of traffic, like the kitchen.
It is really impressive how easy it is to transform a room with just a single coat of paint, don't you think it's time to give it a go?
This is general guidance and should not be read as authoritative and if in doubt qualified individuals/organisations should be consulted.
