5 Hidden Household Health Risks
Updated: Mar. 20, 2019
They sit in your home mostly unnoticed, but it doesn’t mean they’re harmless. Uncover the right time for tossing common home safety hazards in the trash.
When do sneakers cause injury or smoke alarms become dangerous? And just how long have your prescriptions been expired? Follow this quick guide to ridding your home of unnecessary dangers.
1. Worn-Out Sneakers
Running or walking shoes that easily bend in half at the midsole may increase your risk of injury. Give them the boot. Remember, the average sneaker life span: 300 to 500 miles, or about six months.
2. Smoke Alarms
After a decade, smoke detectors won’t reliably warn of fire. Change them at once. Also key: Place alarms in and outside every bedroom and on each level of the home, and change batteries yearly.
3. Medicine Cabinet Contents
Even unopened saline solution and medication can quickly become less potent past their expiration dates. Toss ’em. And high temperatures degrade sunscreen, so replace it once a year.
4. Old Water-Pitcher Filters
Most pitcher filters will remove contaminants from 40 gallons of water-about three months’ worth of normal use. After that, the filter is useless. Replace it.
Tip: No warning light or timer on your filter? Slow flow indicates it’s maxed out.
5. Old Pesticides
The chemicals in pesticides more than two years old may not work as well, and worn-out containers are more apt to break, putting you at risk for exposure to toxins.
