When the weather is good there is nothing quite like getting out in the garden to do some work. You can enjoy tidying up and making everything look nice, as well as performing all those regular jobs such as trimming the hedges and mowing the lawn.
But how safe are you when you are in the garden? We would all like to think we do all the right things and we are safe in our own homes – and in the garden as well. But sometimes we can put ourselves in unnecessary danger without even thinking about it.
For example do you have a safety cut out in place for your extension lead? When you mow the lawn or trim the hedge, you will probably use an extension lead plugged in somewhere in the house. But you should also have a safety cut out in place, rather than simply plugging the garden appliance straight into the lead. It’s always essential to be careful when you are using these things, but it’s all too easy to forget where the lead is and run over it with your mower.
If you have a safety cut out in place then all you will need to do is buy a new lead. But if you don’t – well let’s just say electricity and mowers don’t mix in this way.
There are other areas you should think carefully about to keep yourself safe as well. Think about cutting that hedge for example. It is very easy to trim the sides from a normal standing position. But what about when you come to do the top? If you have a very tall hedge this could pose a problem. You might have an extendable hedge trimmer that can do the job easily, but if you only have a basic one you will probably need to stand on something.
The moral here is to be very careful not to overstretch when doing this. Use a step ladder and make sure it is firmly stationed on the ground before climbing up it. In addition to this you should test it before climbing up any real distance. And only cut the section of hedge you can comfortably reach. Once that is done you can climb down and move the ladder before continuing.
So you see that it is very easy to keep yourself safe in the garden provided you take some basic steps to do so. Are you doing this?