Safety first when it comes to DIY projects

When doing your own home maintenance, repairs or projects, using safety gear is essential. Here are four items you should already have in your toolbox or workshop.

 

Safety glasses, dust masks and ear plugs, plus a decent pair of gloves, are all items that should already be in your toolbox or workshop. These four items protect you from bodily harm when performing a variety of home maintenance, home repair or DIY projects.

Safety Glasses

Wearing safety glasses when doing projects where there are chips flying around, or where you are cutting steel, protect your eyes from flying debris. Having already had a trip to the Doctor to remove a minute piece of aluminium from my eye because I didn't wear safety glasses when cutting aluminium bar, I can tell you that this is not a pleasant experience - and one that I will not repeat.

Safety glasses are far more comfortable than those ugly plastic goggles that mist up as soon as you put them on, and offer adequate protection for most projects. Plus, they fit easily over the top of your regular glasses. However, if you are chipping at tiles or bricks, look for safety glasses that have a surrounding frame that blocks out even more flying debris.

Dust Masks

When cutting brick, tile, steel, and even timber and board products, there will always be dust. Fine dust is harmful to your health as it is easily breathed into your lungs and can cause severe problems. Additionally, some of our board products contain a small amount of formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen, and every attempt should be made to avoid breathing in dust from cutting or sanding board products.

Ear Plugs

Most DIY enthusiasts tend to forget about ear protection, but just like protecting your eyes and mouth, ears are just as important, especially when using high-powered and noisy tools, On any really noisy job that have continuous high pitched sounds ear plugs are a must.

Tork Craft super soft, comfortable ear plugs are ideal for many situations - in the workshop, factory, shooting range, and even motor racing for both the spectators and driver/riders. In fact, you can even use these ear plugs to block out snoring from your annoying bed mate, or outside noise from traffic or loud parties!

All the products shown above are available at your local Builders Warehouse or leading hardware stores, or get in touch with www.VermontSales.co.za to find your nearest retail outlet.