Kitchen do’s and don’ts: Avoiding cooking burns

Do’s

• Keep children away from appliances and counters
  • Ideally, children should be kept out of the kitchen completely. If that’s not possible, be sure to keep them at least three feet away from stoves, ovens and countertops where food is being prepared.
• Turn pot and pan handles toward back of stove
  • Pot and pan handles facing out can be snagged on sleeves or easily tipped over. Take them out of the equation by turning them to the outside, away from the edge of the stove and any flames or heat.
• Cover grease fires
  • Do not try to put out a grease fire with water; it will cause a flare-up that can spray oil and expand the fire. Turn off the heat and smother the fire with a lid or use baking soda to extinguish the flames.
• Use dry oven mitts and potholders
  • Because moisture quickly conducts heat, holding a hot dish with wet oven mitts and potholders can cause severe burns fast. Ensure anything in contact with your skin and a hot item is dry.

Don’ts

• Leave pots and pans unattended
  • Stay in the kitchen while cooking on the stove to respond quickly if food begins to smoke, boil over or catch fire.
• Wear loose clothing
  • Not only can loose clothing potentially catch fire and cause burns, it can also get caught on improperly placed pots or pans, causing hot liquid spills and scald burns.
• Reach across hot burners or cookware
  • Even if you never make contact with a hot surface or flame, heat from a burner or steam from a pot can cause burns if they’re close enough to your skin.
• Put hot dishes near counter or table edges
  • Reduce the risk of a child, pet or anyone else tipping over a hot dish by placing it in the center of the table or counter