While it may not be a common occurrence, there may be instances where a window in your home is broken. Kids playing in the home or a tree falling against your house can cause a window to shatter. This poses a serious risk to you and your family, and is why you need to ensure that you fix broken glass, cleaning up as quickly as possible.
When to Take Action Right Away
Before getting out the broom and dustpan, it is important to assess if the window is shattered or if it is simply suffered some form of crack that needs a repair. A ball hitting against a window or a tree branch falling and cracking a window may not leave shards of glass on the ground below. It may simply create a crack that can either be repaired or replaced.
This can save you some time and money if the window does not need to be replaced, but ensure that you perform a thorough inspection. Just because the glass looks like pieces were not broken away from the windowpane does not mean that they were not. Do a thorough inspection to ensure that there is not glass or other debris that could pose a potential safety risk.
The Risks Are Many
Should the glass break, you need to ensure that you do a thorough job of cleaning the area where the glass may have fallen. Do not assume that the glass is directly below the window. Even if it fell that way, that does not mean it could not shatter below or bounce far away from its initial contact point.
Glass on the ground could be very dangerous, especially to pets or children. Because animals and kids like to play on the ground, it can be very easy for them to get a piece of glass in their hands, feet, even on their face. A child falling down onto a piece of glass could cause a very serious injury. This is especially true if you have infants or toddlers who crawl around on the ground. It would be very easy for them to cut a knee or hand during this process.
Be Thorough
Because of this, you want to be quite thorough in your cleaning. Not only should you sweep the entire area, but it would likely be a good idea to vacuum as well. Performing additional cleaning processes only enhances the likelihood that you have found all the pieces of glass that pose a potential health risk.
It is a good idea if you are initially going to pick up pieces of glass with your hands that you wear gloves. Tiny shards can easily get into your fingers or the palm of your hand when you were trying to pick up the glass. This can create cuts and small pieces of glass can even become embedded in your hand. This poses a potential risk for infection.
Make sure the job you are performing is thorough and that it is done quickly. The last thing you want is to leave glass around where it can become a hazard for you or members of your family. The safety of everyone in your house depends upon it.