When it comes to safety in the kitchen, think smarter, not harder

Top Kitchen Accidents (and How to Avoid Them) 

Ahhhh, the kitchen. The place where you whip up culinary delights for yourself, your family, and friends to enjoy. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, and we agree.  

Unfortunately, it is also a place where a wonderland of kitchen accidents await for those who are blissfully unaware. Have you got a cute polka-dotted dish towel hanging on your oven door? Is your stash of baking soda running low?

Then we are probably talking to you.

Read on because this blog on safety in the kitchen was written to keep you happily cooking at home and blissfully out of the ER. 

The first safety in the kitchen offender on our list is…

Burns. That’s right. Cooking fires are quite the formidable foe. According to the National Fire Protection Association, these fires cause an average of 550 deaths, over 4,000 injuries, and over a mind-boggling $1 billion in damage per year. 

Worse, according to one Washington Post article, the number of burn injuries saw a definite increase during the pandemic. 

One common way that kitchen burn injuries occur is through loose clothing that catches fire. Another problem is that sudden outbursts of cooking fires inspire the opposite reaction of what should be done. You might be tempted to throw water on that fire, but don’t. Instead, use baking soda or something else to put out the flame. 

But the best way to avoid kitchen fires is to have your kitchen organized in a way that makes safety in the kitchen effortless. For example, don’t hang dish towels on your oven door. Keep flame suppressant items nearby when you’re cooking (that item can be your kitchen pot or pan lid). 

If you’ve got kids, you have even more to think about. Keep appliance cords from dangling off the counter, and consider adding a bit of CatTongue Non-Abrasive Gription® Roll to the bottom of larger heated appliances such as slow cookers. This will help keep tiny hands from pulling on cords and dragging heavy (and potentially still hot) items off countertops. 

And always, always, keep an eye on whatever you’ve got cooking! 

Knives out.

Knives are one of the most important tools in any culinary arsenal. They can also be a massive safety in the kitchen fail. 

Plus, they make you just want to cringe. 

There are a couple of easy ways to make knives safer in your kitchen. One might seem counter-intuitive, but it helps a lot to keep your blades sharp. It is dull knives that tend to resist making a clean cut through whatever you are cutting, causing slippage and the dreaded slice to the thumb. 

Another thing you can do is add a bit of CatTongue Non-Abrasive Gription® Roll in black to your knife handles, making them less likely to slip. Since most knives are hand-washed anyway, you don’t have to worry about getting the grips wet. Plus, this grip tape in black is already anti-microbial which helps keep things clean. 

Another common kitchen item you want to be sure to keep from slippage is your cutting board. Try adding one of our CatTongue Gription® Pads to your kitchen supplies lineup. Set your cutting board on top of it when you are getting ready to slice and dice. And while you are at it, add a Gription® Pad to your ceramic or stone kitchen sink. The cushion will help prevent falls and broken glass (another common source of cuts). 

Sure these extra steps take a few minutes. But they can save you hundreds of dollars in hospital bills! 

Shocking. 

Kitchens are one of those rare spaces in our homes where we somehow seem to magically forget how much water and electricity are cohabitating. Chances are your blender sits rather close to your sink. Or you are apt to hit a lightswitch with dishwater-wet hands. 

This can be a recipe for electrical mishaps. 

In general, it is best to keep kitchen surfaces free from puddles. And your floors? While spills might seem easy enough to let lay until dinner is over, it is best to clean them up. Not only can they be an electrical hazard, but they can be a slip and fall hazard. 

Kitchen Safety and Sanitation

We’ve covered all of the more exciting injuries on the topic of safety in the kitchen, from burns to cuts to electrical fires and even slips and falls. But what about the one kitchen accident that is less worthy of a horror flick scene? 

Yes, we are talking about germs. 

Cross-contamination is a top concern when it comes to safety in the kitchen. And with the added stress of things like the coronavirus and other germs, it is more important than ever to be extra cautious. 

It’s important to wipe down surfaces with an appropriate disinfectant. Not only does this keep bacteria at bay, but it also staves off grease that can cause kitchen fires. But ask yourself, how often do you wipe off your refrigerator door? Or how about that garbage disposal switch?

One easy way to keep commonly used surfaces (that are less commonly cleaned) a little bit safer is to add a  bit of the CatTongue Gription® Roll in black. Its anti-microbial properties do half the work for you! 

Kitchens don’t have to be such a dangerous place. 

Who knew that kitchens were filled with so many ways to get injured? You may have never thought about the placement of your tea kettle or the sharpness of your favorite kitchen knife. But you should. 

Emergency room doctors know all-too-well the hazards that come with cooking up culinary delights, as this NEISS statistics on accidents that send folks to the ER show. You read it and have to wonder… why are drinking glasses so dangerous? And how, exactly, are they getting ingested anyway? 

Perhaps we will never know the exact answer to that question. But we hope the tips we’ve shared will make safety in the kitchen far less mysterious.