Lou Manfredini offers DIY Safety Tips

I had the pleasure to interview home improvement expert, Lou Manfredini, about the tips for DIY projects for mom’s this summer and what tools you need for the job.

Some of the topics we discussed included:

-Updating Your Front Door: If you want to add some pizazz to the front of your home consider repainting the front door.  With a little sanding, priming and a new coat of paint in a color (think anything but white) you can change the entire look of your home.

 

-Easy Bathroom Fix: Replacing a broken ceramic tile is easy if you follow these steps. Remove all the grout around the tile. Then use a chisel to remove the tile. Clean it up and then install the new tile with tile adhesive. When that dries, re-grout that tile.

 

-Deck Spruce Up: If you want to spruce up your wood deck, pressure wash it. Cleaning the deck can bring it back to life. Be sure to wear eye and ear protection as the sound these units make is quite loud and can harm your hearing.

 

-Fixing Up Furniture: Refinishing furniture is a great way to bring old items back to life.  Remember that many of the finishing products are petroleum based and harmful to your lungs and skin.

On the phone Lou told me that 1/3 of the population gets injured in a DIY injury. Based on this statistic, he mentioned that most wanted to jump into home improvement projects without the proper gear on. Most people get overly excited, purchase the necessary products to start their DIY project, but then forget the essential safety products!

77 percent of the population skipped wearing protective gear when starting a project. He attributes this to the lack of knowledge on what could happen if one gets hurt and overall apathy about the whole thing.

Most times, safety concerns are overlooked. He recommend first, to make sure you protect your eyes. He knows fashion is high up on people’s wants today to purchasing goggles, so he recommends the ForceFlex^TM Flexible Safety Eyewear from 3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM Brand, which has squeeze frames for good protection.

Each year, more than 2.5 million eye injuries occur and more than half of all reported injuries occur within the home.  Protective eyewear has come a long way and offers styles that are comfortable and stylish, and designed to help keep your eyes protected from projectiles and contaminants.

It is also essential to wear earplugs for those loud sounds such as the lawn mower or other power tools. 3M has work ear muffs that not only will protect your ears, but has MP3 and radio calling.  At the same time,  make sure to protect your lungs from all the dangerous chemicals that could come from doing a DIY project.

Here are some of Lou’s other suggestions:

Lawn & Garden

Before you mow your lawn, take time to walk the yard quickly to inspect for items that may be lying on the ground. Sticks and stones can break your bones – particularly, if the blade of the mower picks it up and throws it at high speed from under the mower’s deck. In fact, the blades of a power mower and strings of a weed trimmer can hurl objects such as rocks and twigs at fast speeds, turning them into dangerous projectiles. Help protect your eyes with safety eyewear like ForceFlex^TM Flexible Safety Eyewear from 3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM Brand.

There is nothing better than digging in the dirt but for most of us it’s a great way to tear up our hands. A good pair of gloves that fit well will give you added protection and help keep you working longer in the garden.

Lawn and garden power tools make your outdoor chores go much more quickly.  But the noise that they make can harm your hearing even if you are only exposed for a short amount of time. Make sure you are wearing ear protection. It comes in many varieties —from disposable foam ear plugs to high quality ear muffs, and even ones that will play music while you work like   3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM WorkTunes^TM Hearing Protector.

Spreading fertilizers around your lawn and garden will help control weeds and green things up, but you do not want to inhale the fumes from those chemicals. Help protect your lungs by wearing some type of respirator when applying these products.  3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM Sanding and Fiberglass Valved Respirator can help protect you and help keep you comfortable and cool with its unique, patented Cool Flow^TM Valve technology.

No matter what project you are doing outside, wearing eye protection is a must. Each year, more than 2.5 million eye injuries occur and more than half of all reported injuries occur within the home.¹ Protective eyewear has come a long way and offers styles that are comfortable and stylish, and designed to help keep your eyes protected from projectiles and contaminants.

 

To help create your safety shopping list, visit  http://www.3mtekk.com.

 

¹ American Academy of Ophthalmology Eye Injury Snapshot, 2010

 

Additional tips from Lou:

 

Light Home Improvement

Updating Your Front Door: If you want to add some pizazz to the front of your home consider repainting the front door.  With a little sanding, priming and a new coat of paint in a color (think anything but white) you can change the entire look of your home. Really! Just make sure you wear a respirator while sanding and some protective eyewear.

Easy Bathroom Fix: Replacing a broken ceramic tile is easy if you follow these steps. Remove all the grout around the tile. Then use a chisel to remove the tile. Clean it up and then install the new tile with tile adhesive. When that dries, re-grout that tile. Make sure you wear a good pair of gloves; those pieces are sharp.

Deck Spruce Up: If you want to spruce up your wood deck, pressure wash it. Cleaning the deck can bring it back to life. Be sure to wear eye and ear protection as the sound these units make is quite loud and can harm your hearing. And all kinds if things can come flying up at you so help protect those eyes with safety eyewear such as ForceFlex^TM Flexible Safety Eyewear from 3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM Brand.

Fixing Up Furniture: Refinishing furniture is a great way to bring old items back to life.  Remember that many of the finishing products are petroleum based and harmful to your lungs and skin. Wear a good pair of quality painter’s gloves such as the 3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM Refinishing Gloves, and also a good respirator such as a  3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM Sanding and Fiberglass Valved Respirator and protective eyewear.

Power Tools: Anytime you are using power tools like a circular saw, sander or a compressor you need to help protect your ears. Disposable foam ear plugs,   like these from 3M^TM TEKK Protection^TM brand, are easy to use and can decrease the decibels by 32, protecting you from noises over 85 decibels which can, over time, lead to permanent hearing loss.

 

Next time you are starting a DIY project, make sure you are prepared!

About the Talent: Lou Manfredini spent 25 years building and renovating homes, he began his media career when WGN-AM Radio 720 Chicago launched his idea of a home improvement call-in radio show.  Today, 18 years later the show, “Ask Mr. Fix-It,” is the number one Saturday morning radio program in Chicago.   Manfredini also hosts and co-produces a Nationally Syndicated television show called HouseSmarts and radio segments called “House Smarts Minutes,” reaching millions of listeners and viewers each week. He has authored five successful home improvement books for homeowner’s who want to understand how their homes work.  His broad base of knowledge and relaxed style makes it easy for homeowners to complete these projects on their own.   

 

 

 

 

*This is a partnered post. All my opinions are my own and not swayed by outside sources.