Safety in DIY is very often underestimated believing that the work done as a hobby does not involve risks. On the contrary!
A job done as a hobby does not differ in anything from a job performed professionally except for the fact that, being hobbyists, we expose ourselves more to the risks of the trade.
Not doing it professionally and therefore not having a complete mastery of equipment and potential risks, the possibility of incurring accidents increases considerably.
For these reasons it is very important to always use personal protective equipment that must be adapted to the type of work that we are going to do, without having the pretension of being heroes.
What good would it do us to save money on a job, not calling in a professional, only to get injured and be forced to take time off from our real job or, worse, end up in hospital? Would it be worth it? Certainly not!
So let's not skimp on materials for personal safety: work gloves are not only used to keep our hands clean but also to protect us from contact with caustic substances or cutting risks, safety glasses will allow us to work in serenity grinding metals or using the brush cutter in the garden.
The problem of safety in the Do-It-Yourself sector must be the mental approach that does not make us overestimate our means, that makes us aware of the risks and that makes us take the necessary measures to minimize those risks; without this mental approach sometimes even personal protection tools are useless.
Let's carry out our favorite hobby in safety in order to get the maximum satisfaction and gratification from it and without incurring in accidents that would soon make us lose the desire to dedicate ourselves to DIY.
So here is a short list of equipment that should not miss even the hobbyist enthusiast of DIY, in technical jargon, we speak of P.P.D. or Personal Protective Equipment.
- Protective gloves made of synthetic material or sturdy leather (there are various types with different degrees of protection, from those who have to handle sheets of glass to those involved in gardening).
- Goggles to repair the eyes from splinters; they are essential aids when cutting stones and bricks but also useful when drilling walls and other surfaces.
- Construction helmet, to be worn at all times when working with suspended loads but also when pruning high branches in the garden, for example.
- Dust masks to protect the upper respiratory tract from inhaling more or less fine dust (there are different types and costs, from disposable to more professional).
- Reinforced shoes with steel toe and non-slip that protect the foot from accidentally falling heavy materials and allow you to walk more safely even on slippery surfaces.
This equipment has a cost, no one says no, and it is also a fairly high cost if we are going to buy good products.
But it's a cost worth bearing because, I've written it above and I'll say it again, it only takes a moment of distraction to get seriously injured and regret the day we decided to put our hands on it ourselves.
No need to even say that the list of materials above is by no means complete, every job has potential risks to be addressed with appropriate tools and materials, let's say that, for most DIY jobs, can be considered as an indispensable basic equipment.