The countless sharp, heavy objects, and dangerous chemicals, like insecticides and gasoline in a garage, poses many threats to your children’s safety. While the best policy is to keep your children outside of the garage, there are times when circumstances outside of your control will completely undermine that idea. Are you prepared for that inevitability? Make sure your garage covers these important safety precautions.

If you have already child-proofed the rest of your home, take the time to ensure that cabinet latches, drawer latches, and electrical outlet covers are placed around the garage as well. Of course, all of your hazardous substances should be stowed safely away.

-Keep all ropes of child’s reach.
-Store ladders horizontally, so your children won’t climb them.
-Disconnect power tools after use. Plug locks are also available that will prevent cords from being plugged in.
-Dispose of incendiary materials, including newspapers, magazines, old clothing, and dirty rags.
-Flammable liquids like gasoline should be kept as far as possible from gas and hot-water heaters.
-When discarding appliances such as refrigerators and microwaves, make sure the doors are removed.
-Lock your car: doors are crushing hazard for your child’s hand and feet. There are even more hazards inside a car once the child enters.
-Install safety measures for your garage door. Both automatic and manual garage doors can cause serious injuries if someone is stuck under it. Manually-operated doors should have a counter-balance system installed, rather than the long-coil spring mechanism. For automatic doors, there are devices which can automatically stop or reverse the door once it makes contact with an obstruction.

For garage supplies and more information, visit Garage Co.