Think laundered clothes that haven't made their way upstairs yet. Often clutter is a byproduct of everyday home life. One way to make a safe staircase dangerous is to clutter it with toys, clothes, and other stuff that should be elsewhere.
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Remove (by sanding, for example) any protrusions or burrs that might snag skin or clothing. While this can be a DIY project given enough time and diligence, it might be a job best left to professionals. If your stair nosings aren't prominent enough, paint them a contrasting color and securely attach any loose railing.
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If tread depth is too shallow, keeping the stairs free of clutter and debris is essential. Secure or replace loose treads that can be a tripping hazard. For stairs with less than 7 feet of vertical clearance (headroom), paint the ceiling or exposed pipes a high-visibility color to make the obstructions stand out. Minimize the falling hazard of short flights of stairs by painting them a noticeably different color or installing accent lighting. While primarily focused on workplace stairs, you can use the advice for your home. Take care with accordion-style gates, which can trap your child's head, and walkers, which are risky when used at the top of stairs (via Nemours Children's Health).Īssuming you cannot rebuild or renovate your staircase, there are some measures you can take to mitigate the risks without significant construction. Use hardware-mounted gates whenever possible, as pressure gates are less solid and secure. Consider installing a doorway gate at the entry to your child's room to eliminate stairway access altogether. There are a number of helpful tips for getting the most out of your stair gate. However, the manufacturer doesn't know your particular circumstances or the arrangement of your stairs, so select a stair gate based on where you'll be installing it in the home. Follow manufacturer directions to ensure your gate anchors properly.
Blueprint Joinery has a useful chart that includes foldable and roller gates for unusual stair configurations where no skirting board is present, pressure gates for doorways, and wall-mounted gates for the top and bottom of most staircases. There are a handful of different baby gate styles for various purposes. As always, check your local codes thoroughly since they might vary from the IRC standards.
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Handrails should go on both sides of a staircase, even though the code only requires one (via Prudent Reviews). For example, research has shown that having a landing partway up your stairs substantially reduces the likelihood of injury from a fall (via Archives of Disease in Childhood). If you're building or remodeling a home, you can certainly exceed the safety standards dictated by the code. Of course, building codes are just a baseline for construction that reduces hazards, not the final word in safety. A comprehensive home stairway inspection checklist is available online (via the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors). This Old House has one of the best overviews of IRC code, but it lacks helpful illustrations. The Stairbuilders and Manufacturers Association publishes visual interpretations of building codes related to stairs and other resources for builders, including free downloads of older applicable building codes and visual guides.
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Since the language of building codes can be a bit impenetrable, there is no shortage of primers and explainers online (via How to Look at a House). However, is it a good enough job? Children under age five experience 46.5 injuries per 10,000 population, about three times the childhood cancer rate (via the National Library of Medicine) and slightly less than the odds of being injured in a motor vehicle accident (via WISQARS).
Despite this, in 2006, only eight of the 1,808 deaths were children under the age of 15. Compare this with 842 deaths between the ages of 78 and 89, and it seems clear that people watch their kids near stairs. How much danger? There's typically over 1 million injuries per year (via the CDC).
However, the Stairbuilders and Manufacturers Association says that stairs in poor condition or with incorrect use are the real danger for children. Stairs are usually not so ominous if they are in good repair. We understand from common sense, experience, and tradition that stairs hold immense catastrophe potential for little ones. We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.Ĭhildproofing is evidence of our devotion to our children.
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