The kitchen is the first room that comes to mind when you think about remodeling. You spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You use your kitchen as a place to plan menus, to cook, to eat, or to gather with friends and family. It is the hub of the household. It is the most frequently visited room in the house. It stands to reason that you want it to look nice and you want it to have the latest appliances. You want your kitchen to be safe as well as functional.
There was a time when choices in appliances were limited to size and color. You probably remember having something in almond or avocado green. Thank goodness we have gotten past that, but now there are so many choices that it is enough to make your head spin. The good news is that many of the latest appliances now combine style with enhanced safety features.
What should you look for in appliances when factoring “aging in place” into the picture? In addition to large sized buttons and controls in bright and contracting colors, you will be looking for models that are quiet, well insulated and energy efficient.
Safety First: More household fires start in the kitchen than in any other room in the house. Unattended cooking is the usual culprit. You will be happy to know that low temperature electric burners and induction cook tops perform without an open flame or a red hot cooking element. Low temperature burners are only a third as hot as a regular electric burner. The burners are hot enough to cook on but not hot enough for oil, food, and most household materials (such as pot holders, clothing or paper) to ignite. Induction cooking processes are different in that there are no hot coils, open flames or heated surfaces. Only the area directly under the cookware gets hot. Technologies like these are geared toward keeping you or your older parent safe in the kitchen.
Safety features: An automatic turn off feature will program a maximum cooking time and turn off when it is reached. The burner will also turn off automatically if a burner is turned on without having a pan or if an empty pan is set on it. An indicator light will tell you if a cooking top is still hot.
If you prefer gas stoves you can still make them as safe as possible. Lock out features makes it impossible for children or adults with memory issues to turn a stove on. Gas stoves are available with reigniting burners that will automatically relight if the flames go out accidently.
Microwaves can be dangerous too. Hot drinks and dishes that can easily spill when you remove them from a microwave are a safety hazard too. A good rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t remove hot items from an oven that is at face level or above (so much for those over the stove microwaves). It is safest to install the microwave on a countertop with counter space nearby where you can set a hot dish down quickly and comfortably.
These are just a few things to keep in mind when selecting or deciding where to put new appliances. Take your time, speak to specialists, and consider what your needs are now and in the future. The kitchen is the most important room in the house and you should be totally safe and happy there. Food and food preparation is important in your quest for health and independence as you grow older.
Kitchen Remodeling: How Safe Is Your Kitchen?
The kitchen is the first room that comes to mind when you think about remodeling. You spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You use your kitchen as a place to plan menus, to cook, to eat, or to gather with friends and family. It is the hub of the household. It is the most frequently visited room in the house. It stands to reason that you want it to look nice and you want it to have the latest appliances. You want your kitchen to be safe as well as functional.
There was a time when choices in appliances were limited to size and color. You probably remember having something in almond or avocado green. Thank goodness we have gotten past that, but now there are so many choices that it is enough to make your head spin. The good news is that many of the latest appliances now combine style with enhanced safety features.
What should you look for in appliances when factoring “aging in place” into the picture? In addition to large sized buttons and controls in bright and contracting colors, you will be looking for models that are quiet, well insulated and energy efficient.
Safety First: More household fires start in the kitchen than in any other room in the house. Unattended cooking is the usual culprit. You will be happy to know that low temperature electric burners and induction cook tops perform without an open flame or a red hot cooking element. Low temperature burners are only a third as hot as a regular electric burner. The burners are hot enough to cook on but not hot enough for oil, food, and most household materials (such as pot holders, clothing or paper) to ignite. Induction cooking processes are different in that there are no hot coils, open flames or heated surfaces. Only the area directly under the cookware gets hot. Technologies like these are geared toward keeping you or your older parent safe in the kitchen.
Safety features: An automatic turn off feature will program a maximum cooking time and turn off when it is reached. The burner will also turn off automatically if a burner is turned on without having a pan or if an empty pan is set on it. An indicator light will tell you if a cooking top is still hot.
If you prefer gas stoves you can still make them as safe as possible. Lock out features makes it impossible for children or adults with memory issues to turn a stove on. Gas stoves are available with reigniting burners that will automatically relight if the flames go out accidently.
Microwaves can be dangerous too. Hot drinks and dishes that can easily spill when you remove them from a microwave are a safety hazard too. A good rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t remove hot items from an oven that is at face level or above (so much for those over the stove microwaves). It is safest to install the microwave on a countertop with counter space nearby where you can set a hot dish down quickly and comfortably.
These are just a few things to keep in mind when selecting or deciding where to put new appliances. Take your time, speak to specialists, and consider what your needs are now and in the future. The kitchen is the most important room in the house and you should be totally safe and happy there. Food and food preparation is important in your quest for health and independence as you grow older.
Excellent points about form and funciton. The kitchen is where a lot of time and energy is spent, and it can obviously be a dangerous place as well. We carry a state of the art Air Flex Comfort mat, a great product for reducing strain on your legs and back while standing in the kitchen.
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Posted by: firstSTREET | October 21, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Thank you so much for sharing this post it is so informative and can really help the persons that can read this. Really help a lot in remodeling the kitchens.
Posted by: karen | December 26, 2010 at 11:47 PM