Garden Tools Health & Safety

Although gardens can be a source of pleasure, relaxation and exercise, unfortunately, they also house the potential for nasty accidents so follow our advice on staying safe in the garden.

Gardening injuries in the garden
Around 1,300,000 individuals in the USA attended Accident and Emergency departments after having an accident in the garden in 2009. Some 87,000 people were actually injured while gardening and using garden tools.

The lawnmower tops the list of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in the garden, with 6,500 lawnmower related accidents reported each year. Suprisingly the  flowerpot is the second most dangerous tool in the garden, causing 5,300 accidents, with falls, cuts and lifting injuries some of the most common types of accident recorded.Many of the following points might sound like common sense, but it's incredible how many people end up in hospital because they haven't taken basic safety precautions in the garden and using garden tools.

Why accidents happen in the Garden

• people take shortcuts in the  gardening and using garden tools
• lack of skill or training to ensure that the job is done safely in the garden
• ignorance of potential risks gardening and using garden tools
• lack of planning and preparation gardening and using garden tools
• and, of course, bad luck; being in the wrong place at the wrong time

Making your garden safer gardening and using garden tools
You can help to avoid accidents gardening and using garden tools by following some simple guidelines:

• Design a garden so that it reduces the need for high maintenance and lifting gardening and using garden tools
• Avoid trip hazards such as loose paving slabs, hosepipes left unravelled or uneven surfaces.
• Use surfaces that provide a good grip underfoot gardening and using garden tools.
• Avoid the garden if possible when conditions are icy and slippery.
• Do not leave sharp tools lying around. Lock them away from children.
• Learn which plants are poisonous in the garden and ensure children and pets stay away from them.
• Electrical equipment should never be used in wet weather.
• Use an RCD (residual current device) to prevent electric shocks. It cuts out the flow of electricity when a cable or flex is cut through.
• Lock away chemicals such as weedkillers and insecticides when gardening. Just because they have the words 'organic' or 'bio' on them, does not make them safe for children to touch.
• Wear safety equipment - such as goggles, hard hats, gloves and steel toecapped boots - when using machinery. Tuck in loose items of clothing.
• Never leave a barbecue unattended in the garden and make sure the flames are extinguished before going to bed.
• If you are in the least bit unsure about the safety of tackling a job, call in professionals.
  

Pond safety gardening and using garden tools
The main risk with ponds is that children will fall in and drown. It is best to avoid building a pond until a child is at least five years old. If you do have a pond, then fill it in. If you must have a pond in the garden, follow these tips to minimise the risks:

• Position the pond where it can be seen from the house.
• Design the pond with gently sloping edges - this is safer than a sudden drop into deep water.
• Cover small ponds with a combination of heavy-duty wooden trellis and wire mesh. Safety grids that sit just below the surface of the water are also available from a number of retailers.
• Put a fence around large ponds to ensure children cannot access them.
• Grow plants around the deeper side of a pond to stop children getting near the edge.

Using a step ladder gardening and using garden tools

• Never work sideways gardening and using garden tools. Directly face your work.
• Don't overstretch yourself gardening and using garden tools. Ensure the ladder gives you enough height for the job.
• Never leave tools on the platform at the top of the ladder.
• Ensure the ladder's rungs are structurally sound and not damaged, rusty or dented.
• Check the ladder has rubber feet to prevent it slipping in the garden.
• Make sure the ladder's feet are on solid, even ground.
• Keep the steps clean and dry.
• Keep one hand firmly on the ladder when working, gardening and using garden tools.
• Do not leave prunings on the rungs of the ladder. They could become slippery and create a trip hazard gardening and using garden tools.
  

Personal Safety Equipment in the Garden
Always make sure that you are wearing the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to avoid a serious injury when working in the garden. This is particularly important when operating machinery such as mowers, strimmers, chainsaws and hedge-trimmers. PPE can include steel-toe caped boots, goggles, ear-defenders, gloves etc. Always consult an expert if you are unsure what you should be wearing for a job

The eziMate ^TM garden tool drastically reduces the three main actions that take place when working with long-handled industrial, landscape, garden and maintenance tools:   Lifting, Pushing & Pulling, and Twisting.

Lifting with the eziMate ^TM Garden Tool

The eziMate ^TM garden tool makes lifting easier - when using shovels, industrial scoops, snow shovels, garden spades, pitch forks, and other heavy tools or loads. Adding the eziMate ^TM garden tool half-way down the tool handle improves your posture by allowing you to stand taller with less back bending action.  The bending typically involved while digging or lifting is minimized & by standing straighter, use of an individual’s legs is maximized, taking a significant burden off the back.  Use of the legs versus use of the back creates a significant ergonomic improvement.

Biomechanically, lifting when gardening typically involves using the body as a third class lever. Adding the eziMate ^TM garden tool half-way down the shovel handle moves your fulcrum to the lower hand, transferring the effort of lifting to the long end of the shovel, turning it into a lever and you can now lift a heavier load with greater ease.

Pushing & Pulling with the eziMate ^TM Garden Tool

Pushing & pulling is usually involved in the use of  brooms, rakes, vacuum cleaners, mops, and long handled snow removal tools. Adding the with the eziMate ^TM Garden Tool half-way down your tool handles improves your back posture by allowing you to stand taller with less back bend.  Your limb alignment and hand position will be more neutral, reducing the risk of repetitive stress injury and neutral limb alignment and hand position will also reduce fatigue and blisters on your hands.

Twisting with the eziMate ^TM Garden Tool 

Twisting is usually involved in the use of brooms, garden rakes, mops, scythes, hoes, spades and other long-handled tools. Using the eziMate ^TM Garden Tool half-way down your long-handled tool will allow a greater range of motion & open the space between your shoulders for better posture and reduced risk of back and muscle pain or strain.