Chores may seem too dull to be dangerous, but every year, thousands of people land in the emergency room after an accident that happened while performing a boring task. Cooking, cleaning, gardening, and carrying groceries are just a handful of chores that can result in injury. And most people never see it coming because these activities aren’t seen as risky.
You can’t predict when an accident will occur, but you can stay safe by understanding the hidden hazards of common daily chores.
Cleaning and organizing
Tasks like scrubbing floors and dusting shelves seem harmless, but cleaning is one of the most injury-prone household tasks. For instance, when you mop the bathroom or clean spills, it can make surfaces extremely slick. According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries, causing more than 6.8 million visits to the ER each year.
Moving furniture, lifting boxes, or even just carrying a vacuum up the stairs can cause muscle strains and other back injuries. And where chemicals are concerned, strong cleaning solutions can irritate your eyes, skin, and lungs. Some people even mix chemicals that produce toxic gasses, like ammonia and bleach.
Yardwork and gardening
Most people think gardening is therapeutic but it actually sends a lot of people to the hospital. Even basic yardwork can be dangerous. Equipment like lawnmowers, tractors, chainsaws, and weed whackers are inherently dangerous. Lawnmowers alone send more than 85,000 people to the hospital with injuries ranging from cuts to amputations. Some are even killed.
Allergic reactions
Anytime you’re out in the yard you’re exposed to plants like poison ivy/oak and stinging insects, which can cause severe reactions. Just trimming a tree can disturb a wasp’s nest enough to get swarmed.
Ladder falls
Ladders are notoriously unsafe, but the risk increases when you’re using a ladder to clean gutters or trim trees. Falling off a ladder often results in bone fractures and head injuries.
Kitchen and cooking accidents
Kitchens may be where all the food is, but they’re also a common site for injury. Scalds and contact burns send thousands of people to the ER every year, mostly from boiling water, hot oil, and ovens. Burns can be serious, and some require skin grafts.
While it’s obvious that sharp knives can cause injury, dull knives are more dangerous because they require more force and slip easily. Tools like mandolines and blenders are notorious for causing injury in the kitchen.
Bathroom falls
Bathrooms are one of the most hazardous rooms in the house. Hundreds of thousands of people are injured every year after falling in the bathroom. Many of these falls happen in the shower or bathtub. Others happen when people carry heavy, overloaded laundry baskets and trip.
DIY home repairs and projects
Fixing things around the house sounds like a great way to save money, but it’s also a fast way to end up in the ER. Most DIYers have never been professionally trained for the task at hand and end up injured. Many of these injuries are caused by power tools like nail guns, saws, and drills. Even simple hand tools like hammers and screwdrivers can lead to serious hand and eye injuries.
DIY project injuries are even worse when they involve electrical work. Trying to fix electrical wiring or outlets without proper training can result in shocks, fires, and electrocution.
Carrying items and reaching
Not all injuries are as dramatic as accidentally driving a nail through your hand. Sometimes everyday movements add up to an injury. For example, lifting groceries or boxes incorrectly can cause back injuries, and stretching to reach high shelves can strain shoulders and cause items to fall from above.
Repetitive motion injuries are real, and they can be serious. For people who bend a lot for tasks like laundry and cleaning baseboards, musculoskeletal injuries can develop over time.
Negligence
Sometimes injuries are more than just accidents and bad luck. For example, faulty appliances and products can cause injuries. And poorly maintained rental properties can cause accidents for tenants and their guests.
When an injury was caused by negligence and not just misfortune, most people file a personal injury lawsuit to recover compensation for their medical bills and lost wages.
Small tasks come with big risks
Chores don’t feel dangerous, but the numbers don’t lie. Whether it’s a slip and fall accident, a burn, a back strain, or a wild accident, ordinary tasks send countless people to the ER every year. You don’t need to be paranoid about the potential for injury, but being aware will significantly reduce your risk.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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