It's one thing for junk to be an eyesore, but when junk becomes dangerous you need to act quickly before it causes any serious damage. To avoid junk dangers in your home, keep clutter to a minimum and regularly purge. Check out our tips to identify and reduce junk-related hazards in your home.
6 household hazardous waste items to look out for
1. Batteries in junk drawers
Do you have batteries sitting loose in a junk drawer? Authorities say a 9V battery, which has both poles on the same side, can start a fire simply by touching something conductive such as a paper clip or steel wool. To prevent this hazard, either recycle unwanted batteries (visit your local municipal website to search for facilities that accept batteries), wrap the ends in electrical tape, or keep them in the original package until you’re ready to use them. Be cautious with lithium batteries as well, they can pose a fire risk if stored near clothing.
2. Combustible items near space heaters, outlets or pilot lights
Don’t let junk collect near space heaters, outlets, or open flame. A loose connection or socket overload can cause a fire, and clutter becomes kindling that promotes combustion and will only help flames to spread faster.
3. Electronics with frayed cords
Replace items with cords that are starting to fray as this can be a serious shock hazard. The same rule applies for extension cords. If the cord looks fine but you’ve been shocked by an item in your house, the item or even the power source, could still be seriously compromised.
4. Tripping and falling
Keep junk out of hallways and away from stairs where you might trip on them. There’s no use keeping items around if they’re going to give you bruises, stubbed toes, or worse. If you’re the type of ‘clutter collector’ who keeps tall stacks of bank boxes, papers, or files around, remember that these can fall down and injure or trap you, making escape difficult in an emergency (or creating an emergency in itself). Cut down on the number of items you have around the house and neatly put important things away.
5. Junk in the yard
Keep your yard clean! Get rid of rusty swing sets, broken lawn chairs and non-working barbecues because they can become dangerous projectiles in a storm, especially in tornado or hurricane-prone areas.
6. Mold
Storing items for a long period of time in a damp basement or attic can encourage mold growth, which can be a serious health hazard that doesn’t always need a long time to build up. If your basement floods, have professionals remove waterlogged or damaged items (including drywall and carpet) promptly and have the area cleaned and dried properly.
If you need to remove potentially dangerous junk from your home, enlist the help of a professional junk removal company, such as 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. Contact us today to see if we are able to help remove your items!
