At Amanzi Granite, we want to help you make your kitchen a functional space as well as an aesthetically pleasing one. One important part of this is safety. There are a lot of potential hazards in the kitchen, for yourself as well as if you have small children or pets in your house. So, let’s look at some basic tips to help keep you, your family, and guests safe in your kitchen.

Know the different kinds of fire

There are lots of appliances that produce heat in your kitchen and that could potentially start a fire. If you need to attempt to extinguish a fire yourself, then it’s important to know how to deal with different kinds of fire. Your first instinct may be to pour water on it, but this is extremely dangerous in the case of grease fires. If food in a pan has caught fire, turn off the heat, put on oven mitts to protect your hands, then cover the pan with the lid so that oxygen can’t get to it.

Invest in a good set of knives

It may sound counterintuitive, but ensuring you have sharp kitchen knives can make food preparation much safer. When chopping veg with poor-quality or blunt knives, you have to put a lot of force behind it. So, if something gets in the way – like your finger – things can go very badly.

With good-quality, sharp knives, on the other hand, so can apply much less pressure to chop things easily and smoothly. So, if you accidentally make contact with your skin, you can easily pull back from it before doing too much damage. And you’re likely to handle a sharp knife more carefully because you know it’s sharp.

Think about what you’re wearing

What you wear while preparing or cutting food could put you at risk. Think about long, loose clothing while you’re working over a gas stove, for example. Make sure that any loose sleeves or long hair are kept safely away from open flames. Tie your hair back and roll your sleeves up to be safe. Wearing footwear in the kitchen can also be wise in case you drop a sharp knife on the floor.

Avoid putting hot things on your countertop

As well as damaging your countertops over time, if you place a glass dish or bowl on a cold surface (like your countertop) while it is still hot, then it could cause the glass to shatter. You could place it down more safely on a wooden cutting board or mat, for example.

Consider your own safety and teach your kids the essentials about kitchen safety, and make sure you have a working fire or smoke detector fitted. You can check out our blog for more kitchen tips, and get in touch if you’re interested in high-quality, natural stone countertops around High Point, Greensboro, Winston Salem, and Kernersville.