Safety Tips

We all know how important it is to maintain a safe kitchen. The National Kitchen & Bath Association has prepared a list of topics to consider when planning your new kitchen. Tips include planning countertop "landing" spaces, placement of appliances, ventilation systems, fire extinguisher and smoke alarm locations as well as other helpful suggestions. To review this checklist, link to "Getting Ready To Remodel / Kitchen Design & Safety Tips (Part 2)" at NKBA.
When designing the opening for your refrigerator, allow side and top clearances for removing the unit to clean behind it. Also, be certain that the refrigerator is properly anchored so it cannot tip. This can happen in an over/under model when both doors/drawers are open at the same time. Plan sufficient clearances for pot and pan handles on range tops and be sure to secure the range to prevent tipping when opening the oven door. A countertop with landing space should be adjacent to the range on which to set hot items that are removed from the oven. Microwave oven location should not be above shoulder height (of adults) and should also have an adjacent landing spot for hot items being removed. Plan to include a GFCI outlet within six feet of any water source. Your garbage disposal should have a dedicated circuit so that it can be turned off if something needs to be removed. Electric disposals have an on/off switch; however, it is recommended that you also turn off the circuit before attempting removal of objects that may be causing a jam.