Dangerous situations in the bathroom. Bathroom Safety Rules: Emergency Doctor Medical Blog
The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in any apartment or house, despite the fact that it usually occupies a very small area. The bathroom should be extremely functional, safe and at the same time comfortable and relaxing. How to avoid the most common mistakes in planning and decorating a bathroom, provide everything you need and not try to save on vital costs necessary things Our article will tell you.
Cerasa
Choose the right materials for your bathroom
According to statistics, most home injuries occur in the bathroom, so experts categorically do not recommend using smooth floor tiles in this room. Just a few drops of water can be enough to turn it into a skating rink, which is especially dangerous if there are children or elderly people in the family. For the bathroom, choose slightly ribbed floor tiles, preferably with a special anti-slip coating, for example, textured artificial stone.
Tiles imitating appearance wood, will help create coziness in the bathroom, Ceramiche Gardenia Orchidea
You should also pay attention to the ceiling finish. Popular and a budget option finishing is plastic panels, however, you should remember that they will definitely not save you from a possible leak, and besides, unappetizing stains will remain on the surface. It is currently considered optimal suspended ceiling, which will reliably protect even from a large-scale flood from above. To drain the water accumulated in the ceiling, it will be enough to make just one small puncture of the surface.
Correctly calculate the number of tiles
There is nothing more disappointing when you only need a couple of tiles to complete your bathroom, and the store cheerfully informs you that this collection has already been discontinued. Alas, errors in calculations required quantity material is a very common phenomenon, which is why you need to be as careful as possible when taking measurements and take tiles with a reserve.
Don’t be afraid to combine tiles with mosaics - it looks very impressive, Lea Caramiche
Memo: at diagonal layout tiles should be taken at 15% of the required quantity, for horizontal ones - at 10%.
Don't skimp on faucets
If the goal is to save money, prioritize correctly: italian tiles from a fashion designer or a bathtub with a hydromassage are by no means essential items, but a leaking faucet that does not regulate the water well can definitely ruin the life of the whole family. Instead of regularly replacing one low-quality faucet or toilet with another of the same level, it is better to choose from the very beginning, albeit not the most stylish, but reliable option.
Rubinetterie F.lli Frattini
Take care of high-quality ventilation of the room
We tend to underestimate things that are invisible at first glance. One of them is the ventilation system, which is more important in a room with high humidity than anywhere else. To prevent mold and similar untidiness from appearing in the bathroom, check the quality of the work natural ventilation indoors and install forced (fan) ventilation if necessary.
Advice: An additional fan sometimes turns on automatically along with the lighting, however, this is not always convenient. It is better to provide for forced ventilation autonomous switch.
Pay attention to the height of the bathtub and sink
Obviously, the sink should be at a comfortable level for the user. As a standard, this height is 85 cm from the floor and is designed for people with a height of 1.65 to 1.85 cm. Accordingly, if the height of family members differs significantly from the standard, it makes sense to choose a hanging model and install it at a comfortable level.
The wall-mounted sink can be equipped with additional rails and cabinets, Cosentino Group
Very often, due to the laying of additional pipes, it is necessary to increase the height of the floor or install the bathtub on a podium. In this case, it is also necessary to take into account that a high side in combination with a podium can be inconvenient, especially for short people, which increases the risk of slipping or injury. In this case, you should choose a different bathtub model, abandon the podium or provide steps or steps in it.
Memo: if the bathtub is built into a tiled podium, do not forget to provide a hatch in it, in case you need to change pipes or repair something.
Do not install a toilet opposite the entrance - it is not a throne
The toilet is, of course, an important and necessary thing, but it is still not worth making it the center of the bathroom interior. It is advisable that it is not located opposite the door and does not fall into the line of sight from other rooms. Sometimes it makes sense to install it diagonally or hide it behind a small wall projection or partition if we're talking about about the combined bathroom.
Ceramica Cielo
Memo: remember that expanding wet areas, moving the toilet to another place and combining the bathroom can only be done in agreement with the housing inspection.
Make the right choice: shower or bath
Most of us want to soak in a spacious bath, but objective reality is often far from the dream. In a small bathroom, it makes sense to install not just a shower stall, but one that will take up minimal space.
A minimalist shower will not visually clutter the space and will not take up much space, Dimasi Bathroom
Advice: optimal options For many, a combined model, which is a hybrid of a cabin with a splash screen and a full-fledged bath, can be a good choice.
Combined bath and shower, Jacuzzi Europe
Take care of lighting
Few of us can boast of a bathroom with a window. Accordingly, there are no natural sources of lighting, which means that artificial sources will have to be used as much as possible. Recommended layout: built-in ceiling lighting around the perimeter of the room and additional lamps near the mirror in front of which you apply makeup or shave, and in the sink area.
Options for placing additional lamps in the sink area, Kerasan
Memo: in the bathroom, the location of lighting sources should be planned at the renovation stage, since due to high humidity, everything lighting require additional insulation and grounding.
As much as you might want to avoid clutter in your bathroom, you can't do without storage. Additional hanging shelves in the corner, baskets for dirty laundry, a cabinet or a neat box for small items - all this will require its own space, which should be provided for in advance.
Built-in wardrobes with glass doors in the bathroom, Falper
For fans of order and minimalism, built-in niches or cabinets with closed doors hiding numerous vials and jars from prying eyes can be a way out.
An unusual solution for a storage area, Moma Design
Memo: In addition to plumbing fixtures, the bathroom must have furniture for storage, at least minimally. Towels, detergents and cosmetics, hair dryer, etc. it must be kept at hand, and not in another room, otherwise there can be no talk of any comfort.
Remember the outlets
Some seemingly insignificant details can significantly ruin your life and mood. One of them is the lack of sockets, because in every room modern house There are a lot of available equipment. In the sink area it is worth providing at least one socket with special protection against water ingress, and also provide additional sockets for a washing machine, boiler, etc. devices.
A socket for a hair dryer, electric razor and other devices will definitely come in handy, Duravit Italia
You are serenely humming your favorite song in the shower, and all these objects are just waiting to kill you, injure you or infect you with an infection.
We're joking, of course, but still be careful with them. Especially when you bathe a child.
1. Gender
Do you disdain to go without slippers in the shower of a fitness club? Your own bathroom floor isn't much cleaner: Australian scientists estimate that it contains, on average, 200 times more than it allows. sanitary standard.
How to escape? Wash the floor with disinfectants and place a washable rug on it.
2. Spilled water
Every year, about 450 people die from slipping on wet floor. Children and the elderly are at risk.
How to escape? Choose a shower stall with a door rather than a curtain. Install tiles with an uneven surface. There are also special mats that do not slip on the floor.
3. Toothbrush
London professor John Oxford said that the bathroom is a difficult place to plan. Every day, dirt from our own bodies scatters throughout the room and settles on objects that outwardly seem clean.
A study by British scientists says that up to 100 million people can live on a toothbrush. Some of them can be almost fatal: E. coli, fungi, streptococci, etc. Hygiene in shared bathrooms suffers especially badly: germs from the toilet scatter within a radius of 180 cm.
How to escape? Store brushes in a case or put special caps on them. Alternatively, you can remove the glass with brushes on closed shelf.
4. Shower curtain
Always damp and warm - ideal for the growth of bacteria and fungi. the curtain can cause intestinal diseases and inflammation.
How to escape? genitourinary system
Wash (or better yet, change) once every three months. After you have taken a shower, straighten the curtain and open the door. This will make it dry faster.
5. Shower head
How to escape? American researchers have found that almost a third of shower heads contain pathogens. The fact is that they always contain warm water, which bacteria love very much.
According to a 2007 US General Safety Council research report, home injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in the US. Researchers point to the bathroom, along with the kitchen and stairs, as one of the most dangerous areas in the home.
1. Water, water all around
The most basic part of the bathroom is water: in the sink, bathtub and shower. And this is probably the number one danger. More people are injured and even killed by falls in the bathroom than in any other room in the house. The problem is that the water doesn't always stay where it needs to be. Poorly installed shower curtains and simply wet feet are some of the main causes of water on the bathroom floor.
The ideal shower has glass doors, not curtains. Otherwise, you can minimize leakage by using two curtains: one that falls into the bathtub and the other, a decorative curtain, that hangs onto the floor. To stop slipping, try installing tiles in your shower that have a slightly uneven surface, and place soft rugs on the floor.
2. Slippery bath or shower products
Modern people use many products in the shower and bath. The problem is, all of this: shampoo, conditioner, body gel, exfoliant, shaving cream, create a lot of foam and make surfaces slippery. The soap may slip enough to cause a fall.
Soap accumulations should be cleaned regularly. After a shower or bath, dry surfaces quickly.
3. Bright and white surfaces
A pure white bathroom can look great, but the combination of light, white surfaces and reflective surfaces (like mirrors and chrome taps) can be disorienting. Bright lights can even be dazzling to someone with less than perfect vision, as is the case with many older people. What's more, all that brightness can mask standing water on the floor, increasing the risk of slipping.
Switch to frosted bulbs to help reduce glare. A row of contrasting tiles (or wallpaper border) breaking up the white wall space will help maintain balance.
People who are trying to keep the bathroom warm use an electric heater in this room. Like anyone electrical appliance(hairdryer, razor) in a bathroom where there is so much water, a heater is a potential risk electric current, as well as accidental fire.
If staying warm is a problem, install a permanent wired heating system and install heated floors only in the bathroom. Or you can run the shower a little earlier before your bath to allow the steam to warm up the room.
5. Shower doors
Glass shower doors have become popular as an alternative to vinyl shower curtains. But they are known to deteriorate over time. They can also break if impacted. Since most doors are made from tempered glass, they tend to instantly break into many small pieces rather than big jagged ones. This is less likely to cause severe cutting, but can still seriously injure a child or frail elderly adult.
You don't have to give up glass. Just make sure family members don't use them as towel racks or lean on them. Check shower doors regularly for cracks and chips.
Let's start with the most important rule: never leave your baby in the bath unattended, even for half a minute! Even if the baby is already sitting confidently and it seems to you that you will have time to run to the kitchen and check if the milk is boiling there, or quickly answer the phone call. Very young children are still quite helpless, and for them to be under water is a matter of seconds. And older toddlers may try to get out of the bath on their own in your absence. These dangerous attempts often result in serious injury. Try to detach yourself from everyday chores while bathing - they will wait. And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, take the baby out of the water, wrap it in a large towel and take it with you...
Be very careful with hot water. Always stick to simple rule: When opening the water, first open the cold one and only then open the hot one! You should close the water the other way around: first hot, then cold.
Before putting your baby in a bathtub or large bathtub, first check the temperature of the water in it. It can be measured using a thermometer. The maximum water temperature when bathing a baby should be no more than 50°C. But the fastest and easiest way is to put your elbow in the water. If the water is too hot, you will immediately feel it. Never add hot water to the bathtub while your baby is in it. Hot water will not mix with cold instantly and can burn the baby. If you need to add water, take the baby out of the bath, add water, stir, check the temperature and only then return the little bather to his place. This simple rule will help you avoid serious troubles! It would also be a good idea to put special protective attachments on the taps: then, when playing in the bathroom, the baby will not hit his head on them.
Everything is in its place!
Usually in the bathroom there are all kinds of shelves and cabinets for shampoos, washcloths and other bath accessories, creams, and cosmetics. Carefully check how securely they are fastened and whether the bottles and vials are stable on them. Otherwise, if you accidentally catch one of the shelves while swimming, you can dump a bottle of shower gel or an aerosol with shaving foam on the little bather. It is better that there is nothing above the bathing baby that could fall on him.
Household chemicals in the bathroom require special care: washing powders, bleaches, cleaning products, etc. They must be securely hidden in locked cabinets. After all, sometimes it happens like this: an open packet of washing powder is on the washing machine. As soon as mom turned away for a second, the baby, sitting in the bathtub, reached out to the powder, grabbed it with a tenacious little hand and - lo and behold - the powder was already in the bathtub! That's why all household chemicals you need to keep away from those tenacious little hands and curious nose. If your lockers do not close, equip them with special locks. Or even remove all objects that are dangerous to the child from the bathroom.
If you have a shared bathroom, do not forget to put locks on the toilet lid so that the baby is not tempted to study everything thoroughly or to buy his favorite toy from the toilet. And under no circumstances should you place hooks, latches or other locks on bathroom doors that are easy to latch from the inside and impossible to open from the outside. Otherwise, it may happen that you will have to break down the door, rescuing the baby locked there.
Dangerous electricity
We remember from our school physics course that electricity and water are very dangerous neighbors. There is as much water and even just moisture in the bathroom as you like. Electricity is also present: there is a light, a socket, and all sorts of electrical appliances, from a washing machine to a hairdryer. From this we can conclude that compliance with the rules safe handling With electricity in the bathroom it is more important than in any other room.
So, all wiring in the bathroom should be in perfect condition. Electrical sockets must be closed with special protective plugs for the bathroom to prevent moisture from getting into them.
Never leave plugged-in electrical appliances in the bathroom - hair dryer, curling iron, razor, etc. Remember that they may accidentally fall into the water where the baby is. Train yourself to turn them off and put them away immediately after use. The same goes for your washing machine: always keep it closed and unplugged. Never bathe your baby while the bathroom is running. washing machine. If you use a water heater, do not forget to turn it off while bathing. Negligence in this matter can cost lives...
Cleanliness is the key to health
The bathroom is usually a small and closed room. Therefore, all foreign odors linger here for quite a long time. It is very important that the hood in the bathroom works flawlessly. But, in any case, it is better not to use it for washing and cleaning the bathroom. chemical substances with a strong odor. Microparticles of the detergent will “hang” in the room for a long time, and the bathing baby will be forced to breathe them. Clean the bathroom in advance and ventilate the room well before bathing your baby. Remember to thoroughly rinse cleaning products from the surface of the bathtub, washbasin and baby bath using a large number of running water. Many household cleaning substances are very aggressive, and even a small amount of them, if it gets on the baby’s skin, can lead to burns, irritation, and an allergic reaction.
Due to high humidity and elevated temperature in the bathroom, all kinds of bacteria and mold fungi quickly multiply. Poor ventilation and leaking pipes especially contribute to this. If a black coating spoils the appearance, that’s not so bad. What is much more dangerous is that mold spores enter the air and then into the human respiratory tract. This can lead to various allergic diseases, including bronchial asthma. The proximity to mold fungi is especially unfavorable for children with allergies. If you are planning to renovate your bathroom, it makes sense to treat the tiles with a special compound that will prevent mold from growing. If repairs are not planned in the near future, wash the walls in the bathroom with a hot, strong solution of soda and washing powder - 1 tbsp. a spoonful of powder or a pack of soda in a bucket of water. The “vegetation” cannot tolerate the alkaline environment created by the solution and dies. It is advisable to carry out such treatment once every 1–2 months or at the first signs of mold. You can also find special antifungal detergents on sale.
Useful things
For bathing very young children, it is convenient to use baby baths, at the bottom of which special bathing stands or “slides” are placed. They support the baby during bathing and reduce the risk that the baby will accidentally slip from your hands and his head will drop below the water level.
If you bathe your baby in large bath, you may need a device that will allow your little bather to sit in the bathtub. It is a large, durable ring on four legs with suction cups. The suction cups securely attach the “seat” to the bottom of the bath, the back provides the baby with a comfortable and safe position, and the arms remain free for play. For older children, provide the bottom of the bath with a special mat with suction cups to prevent it from slipping. A handle holder on the wall would also be useful. This will prevent your child from slipping and falling if he decides to stand up while bathing.
By the way, the bathroom floor must also be covered with an anti-slip mat. A wet, soapy floor can make it easy to slip and fall or hit your head on the hard ceramic surface of the sink or bathtub itself. People suffer many serious injuries at home for this reason. Such sliding is dangerous even for adults. And what can we say about tiny, awkward people who have just learned to walk and still do not know how to properly balance.
If we pay attention to the arrangement of our bathroom, if we do not forget about simple rules safety, bathing your baby will be pleasant, useful, fun and, most importantly, a safe procedure!
General cleaning of the bathroom, maintaining the cleanliness and external shine of tiles and faience, but have we taken everything into account, and isn’t there a hidden danger hidden behind the gloss? Let's look at all the items in detail and eliminate possible mistakes that could cost the health of everyone at home.
- Toilet
The toilet is probably the most dangerous thing in the house in terms of bacteria content. Under its rim hides a multi-billion army of microbes, ready at any moment to get on our skin and clothes, and for this they do not have to wait until you look there, because at the moment of flushing, bacteria scatter two meters within the radius of the toilet and land on you without direct contact . In cases of a shared bathroom, these bacteria also end up on your hygiene products, soap, towels and toothbrush. What we advise you, in addition to regularly cleaning the toilet with detergents, is to close the lid before flushing and do not allow bacteria to leave their environment. Also, do not forget to change the toilet brush for the toilet, its bristles contain all sorts of things, periodically pour boiling water over it and leave it overnight in a soapy solution. - Toothbrushes.
We don't expect any harm from our toothbrushes, because we change them regularly and keep them clean. True, this cleanliness is deceptive, after the very first brushing of the teeth, bacteria settle on the brush and multiply in the damp bristles, the brushes stand side by side, in the same glass, and generously share bacteria with each other, touching each other. It is absolutely clear that we cannot buy a new brush every time, brush our teeth and throw it away, but we can isolate them from one another, place them not in a cup, but in separate nests, we can scald the bristles with boiling water before use, and we can also place our brush with bristles down into mouthwash. - Shower cabin.
A very convenient and economical structure, the glass doors and tray shine, everything seems to be fine and there is no danger, until we look into the wet joints where the cabin comes into contact with the wall, especially the corner with the pipes. This is where there is freedom for the formation of black mold and mildew, all the conditions, moisture, warmth, and not in front of your eyes. We advise you to pay attention to this place Special attention, even if you don’t see fungus, do not forget to treat the joints with antifungal and antibacterial agents. Keep soap and shampoos away from this place, everything that you will then rub into your skin, do not let fungal spores get into your cosmetics. - Tiles and joints.
Bathrooms and toilets are characterized by high humidity and poor ventilation, so to preserve the walls and ease of processing, they are often decorated in smooth tiles. Harmful bacteria settle on clean-looking tiles that are damp from fumes; we don’t see them, but they can provoke bronchial asthma, especially if there is no sufficient air duct. There is only one way out, the same disinfection, but the most important thing is not to forget to treat the seams between the tiles, go over them with a brush with a solution, because for the loose, porous structure of the tile mixture, it is not enough just to go over it with a cloth, and more careful care is required. - Excessive cleaning with detergents.
It is not paradoxical, but our love for cleanliness and the use of cleaning products can also harm us, for example, we simply inhale chemical vapors when cleaning, even with the use of gloves, we cannot guarantee that strong products will not come into contact with the skin and, what is especially dangerous, poor quality rinsing bathtubs, sinks, tiles and toilets. If you haven't washed it all away detergent, and it remains on the walls, then while taking a bath, you will get a stab in the back from the “friends of the Moydodyrs”, because to them the bacteria are the same as you, they act on destruction and you are guaranteed an allergic reaction.
