When building your tool kit, safety should be priority No. 1
No matter the job, proper protective gear is essential for do-it-yourselfers
No tool kit is complete without the proper safety gear. As a contractor, I take the safety of my crew seriously, but even when I’m doing work around my own home, I always make sure to wear the proper protective gear. You only have one body, so make sure you protect it. It only takes a few extra seconds to put on your safety gear, but they could mean all the difference in the event of an accident. Never attempt a job without the proper safety gear. Here are some of the top safety items no DIYer should be without:
EYE PROTECTION
This should be obvious to most of you, but you’re not ready to work unless you’ve got your eye protection on. I once had a really close call with a wood chip when I wasn’t wearing my safety glasses — if it had been just a centimetre closer, it could have been a disaster. Since then, I always wear my safety glasses, for jobs big and small.
If you wear regular glasses and think that’s good enough, it’s not. Get something that offers full protection. I have a different pair for indoor work than I do for outdoor work (they’re tinted to protect against the sun). My glasses even have an anti-fogging agent on them.
Used for: lawn care, wood working, drilling
RESPIRATOR
Breathing in harmful chemicals can make you trigger asthma, allergies or make you feel sick. A lot of building materials contain volatile organic compounds ( VOCs), like paint, so a respirator will help protect you. While the scent of sawdust is appealing, breathing it in repeatedly can cause lasting, harmful damage. Even after the saw is turned off, those particles remain in the air, and you can ingest them. Not only can it irritate your nose and throat, sawdust is a known Category 2 carcinogen that can potentially cause cancer.
Personally, no matter what the job is, if I’m working indoors, I’m wearing my respirator. Especially in small spaces with poor air flow, you don’t want to be breathing in those fumes.
Used for: painting, sanding, caulking, contaminant removal
EAR PROTECTION
I’m a contractor and I love to play the drums, so you can imagine that my eardrums go through a lot. But I think for a lot of homeowners, they don’t think about the impact their DIY projects can have on their hearing. Some people prefer earplugs for their hearing protection, others rely on earmuffs.
For jobs that are in an environment that are louder than 85dB you should be wearing hearing protection. For many jobs, the longer you’re running the machine, the more you’re at risk for hearing damage. So if you’ve got a big property that takes you a few hours to mow? You could be hurting your hearing if you’re not wearing protection. Some jobs can do damage immediately — if you’re pulling out the chainsaw, don’t forget your earplugs. I love my machines, and I’ve got a big patch of grass, so whenever I pull out the riding mower, my earmuffs come with it.
Used for: sanding, band saw use, leaf blowing, mowing the lawn, pressure washing
PROPER FOOTWEAR
The number of DIYers I see working away in sandals or open toed shoes is mind boggling to me. Even for small jobs, you never know if you’ll drop a brush, hammer, stone or two-by-four.
And always wear good shoes when mowing the lawn. I know it’s summer, but there’s no excuse for cutting grass in flip-flops. Lacerations and — more alarmingly — amputation account for almost 50 per cent of all lawn mower injuries in Canada. Don’t take the chance.
As I get older, I’m finding that I also need a reliable set of insoles for my boots to keep me comfortable all day, too.
Used for: every job — seriously
GLOVES
Any time you’re working with a potentially toxic substance, you want to minimize the risk of contact on your skin. In the case of something like mould, ideally you’ll have disposable clothing, but at the bare minimum you’ll want good protective gloves to keep you from making direct contact. If the mould exceeds 10 square feet, it needs to be cleaned by a professional.
Gloves also provide a mental reminder not to put your fingers near your mouth when you’re working. I’ve heard of people getting ill because they’re working with a toxic material, accidentally make contact with it and, without thinking, put their hand on their mouth, ingesting the substance.
Even jobs as simple as pulling weeds in the garden can benefit from protective gloves. You never know when you’ll accidentally grab onto a thorn, or need some extra grip to really yank those stubborn weeds out.
Used for: landscaping, sanding, painting
While most safety gear doesn’t expire, make sure you check your gear before and after use. When something starts to break, it’s not worth keeping; it’s time to replace it.
Watch Mike Holmes in his series, Holmes Makes It Right, on HGTV. For more information, visit makeitright.ca.