5 Common Sense Steps to Weedeater Safety

Today, we're going to look at weed eater safety. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 5,000 weed eater injuries happened in 1989.  About 1/3 of those were because people didn't bother to wear safety glasses/goggles. 

The best thing you can do is simply read the owners manual.  All the tips you could ask for are in there.  But for those of you who don't like owners manuals, here is a very brief summary of common sense safety tips.

1.  Never wear sandals, flip flops or go barefoot, as flying debris and the spinning trimmer line are definite safety hazards.  I know you've probably seen others do it, but they're nutts, and you don't want to be like them.  

2.  Make sure you wear long pants, sturdy shoes, gloves, ear plugs or other hearing protection and safety glasses.  Safety glasses or goggles will protect your eyes from flying debris resulting in eye injury or loss of vision from objects flung at your face.  

3.  Keep the cover guard on.  The guard prevents any line from breaking free and shooting straight up in your face and other debris from hitting you.  

4.  This is a super big one, and one that really annoys the crap out of me when I see the neighbours doing this.  PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS!  Know where your kids and pets are at all times.  Don't allow children or pets to hang around where you're weed eating.  They can easily end up with serious eye injuries from the flying debris.

5.  Know where your phone lines are or any other line that comes into the house.  Both me and my youngest nephew have managed to sever my phone line because we didn't notice the line.  : )

Remember, weed eating is dangerous, so make sure you use your head, and especially know where your kids and pets are.

That's it!  This is the last in my series on weed eaters.  I hope you've found it helpful, and that it will help you save both time and money on choosing your next or first weed eater.

Make it a great day!

Yochana