SEATTLE, Jan. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- For those looking to tackle their to-do list of home repairs themselves, if the projects involve a ladder, they may be better off hiring a home professional. New research from leading home repair and maintenance website Porch found ladders are responsible for nearly 200,000 emergency room visits a year.
Porch analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System1 to determine what tools were responsible for the most emergency room visits in the U.S. While ladders top the list, Americans have found many ways to hurt themselves with other common household tools:
- Hardware caused the second most injuries. Things like nails, screws and tacks caused nearly 125,000 trips to the emergency room.
- With spinning blades, both lawnmowers and power saws came in third and fourth, respectively, causing a combined 170,000 injuries.
- Aside from tools that can cause obvious injuries, things as innocuous as cleaning agents caused more than 45,000 injuries. For example, improperly mixing chemicals together can easily result in a need for medical treatment.
Certain generations also have a higher propensity for injury, no matter the tool. With age comes wisdom - while people in their 50s and 60s are more likely to injure themselves during a project, Millennials are the most likely to end up in the emergency room while attempting a home repair. Men lead the pack in injuries, with seven in 10 injuries befalling them. Most concerning, children under five also account for more than 40,000 tool-related injuries.
Unsurprisingly, most people are tackling their home repairs in warmer weather, especially on the exterior of their homes. Injuries peaked in the summer months with 136,100 injuries in June and 137,400 in July. Most home improvement-related injuries occurred on a Saturday, but surprisingly, Mondays came in second.
For more information on the most dangerous tools, visit Porch.com.
About Porch.com
Launched September 2013, as an online home improvement network connecting homeowners with qualified professionals, Porch has grown into the industry-leading partner for the home. With more than 250,000 active professionals across the U.S., Porch partners with large retailers like eBay, Overstock, and Pottery Barn to provide home services fulfillment for their customers, as well as direct-to-consumer access to more than 160 different home services offerings through Porch.com. Focused on assisting customers at every stage of the "home journey" – including moving in, installations, assembly, repairs and ongoing maintenance – last year alone, the company facilitated over 2 million home-related projects, generating almost $1 billion in revenue for small business owners and sole proprietors in specialty areas such as plumbing, roofing, electrical work, carpentry, and more.
1 https://www.cpsc.gov/Research--Statistics/NEISS-Injury-Data
SOURCE Porch
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