Danger hides around every corner in our home, even concerning products you would never think could cause you harm. None of these items have danger written in big, bold letters, but some lacked adequate warnings from the manufacturer.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) put together this list of every day items after surveying emergency room information. Believe it or not, people landed at the emergency room after having an unfortunate experience with these household products.
Pillows, blankets, and mattresses.
Pillows provide you with several hours of comfortable sleep every night. They also present a tripping risk and a choking risk for babies. in 2015, the CPSC estimated that more than 770,000 American adults were injured by pillows. This placed the comfy object as the second most dangerous item in your home and the most dangerous item that isn’t built into your home. If you are curious about the injuries pillows caused, they included simple bruises, bone breaks, and in one out of seven cases, the injuries required hospitalization.
Chairs, sofas, and sofa beds.
This item came in third place for household items that caused the most injuries. The CPSC reported that as many as 600,000 injuries occurred from falls and other interactions with these types of furniture. You may want to think twice before jumping from couch to couch next time you're celebrating.
Metal cans and plastic/glass containers.
These items are as dangerous as they are versatile, according to the CPSC. They estimated that almost 295,000 injuries took place in 2015 from human interactions with containers and cans, with an additional 42,000 sustaining injuries from glass jars or bottles. Small children choked on bottle caps, and metal cans sliced fingers, often leading to stitches. People storing inappropriate material in plastic containers, including combustibles, presented another risk the CPSC highlighted.
Clothes
We choose our clothes for style and comfort. According to the CPSC, we may want to reconsider some choices. In 2015, nearly 350,000 people went to the hospital because of injuries caused by their clothing. Problems highlighted included flammability, injuries from drawstrings, children choking on buttons, and tripping from loose-fitting clothing. Warning, your clothes could send you to the hospital, tread lightly.
Bathroom fixtures
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly reports that the bathroom is the most dangerous place in the home, whether from the spread of germs or from injuries sustained in the room. A report from the CPSC agrees, estimating that almost 572,000 people received injuries connected to bathroom structures or fixtures or personal use items. Have you ever heard of the irrational fear of falling in the shower and have your neighbors find you after a week? Well, it's not too far from the truth.
Television stands
With the push for larger televisions, the risk of injury grows to match. Large sets present lifting risks for adults and a tipping danger to infants and children. The impact from a television set tip-over can be equivalent to two NFL linebackers hitting each other head-on at full speed.
Dressers
Falling furniture like heavy dressers has become a greater risk in the last couple of years than ever before. In 2016, Ikea had to pull around 27 million dressers from their stores after six children were killed after the furniture tipped over. As a result, several personal injury and product liability claims were made by the families of these children.