If you’re earning your money by performing odd jobs, then you’ll want to make sure that you’re taking the appropriate safety precautions. While being a handyman (or a handywoman) isn’t quite as hazardous as posture-destroying desk work, it does carry a few risks that you’ll want to be aware of, and to address in advance by investing in the right gear.
Let’s run through a few items that might come in useful.
Disposable Gloves
If you ever need to handle potentially hazardous substances, then a pair of disposable gloves might make the difference between safety and severe skin inflammation and burns. If you’re handling rough or heavy materials, then a more rugged set of rubberised canvas gloves might be appropriate. In this case, you’re not only protecting your hands, but also reducing the risk that you’ll drop something.
Facemasks
Face masks help you to deal with the airborne particulates that might come from certain tasks. If you’re sanding, then by definition you’re going to be creating dust, a portion of which might find its way into your lungs. Mask up! If you’re working with asbestos, then you’ll need breathing apparatus that goes way beyond the standard facemask.
High-visibility Clothing
If you’re working in a darkened environment, then it’s important that you can be easily seen. This applies to construction sites, but if you’re working on roads, it’s arguably even more important. Invest in high-visibility clothing and you don’t need to worry about this problem again!
Hard Hats
Hard hats are a requirement if you’re working on a construction site, or in any environment where objects might fall from overhead. They should be considered indispensable if you’re working in a derelict building where you’re uncertain of the risks. Even if you don’t end up using one, it shouldn’t be because you don’t have one to hand.
Safety Goggles
Your eyes are among the most sensitive and delicate organs in your body. They’re not meant to cope with dust and particulates, or with metal sparks that come from drill. Wear a set of protective goggles whenever you’re doing any activity that might produce these things.
Ear Protection
Repeated and prolonged exposure to loud noises, like that of a drill or other power-tool, will assuredly cause hearing loss in the long-term. Guard against this with the right set of earplugs.
First-aid Kit
However stringently you try to avoid an accident, there’s always a chance that a momentary lapse of judgement will cause you, or someone else, an injury. Here’s where it becomes vital to have a first-aid kit to hand. For minor nicks and scrapes, you can treat the wound and apply a plaster. For more major accidents, you can treat the injury while you wait for the paramedics to arrive.
