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Home Safety Tips Check out these tips for simple fixes and practical solutions to make your home safer. From "Today Show Tips" episode DTST-120

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Tool Safety

A lot of today’s homeowners have tools that used to be only for professional contractors. That means homeowners have to use the same precautions to avoid injury. Here are some tips to keep you safe when you use power tools.

Nail guns can save a lot of time and effort, but there has been a huge increase in nail-gun injuries. A few precautions can keep you from becoming one of those statistics.

• Always wear safety glasses.

• Take the time to know your nail gun and how it works.

• Make sure the safety operates as it’s designed to do. One of the biggest mistakes people can make is using a nail gun with the safety locked back. That lets the gun fire easily %#151 and it could fire in the wrong direction.

• Use the nail gun properly. Make sure you know what you’re nailing into, for example. Determine ahead of time that there’s a stud behind the plywood you’re putting up; otherwise, you could shoot right through the plywood and hit someone on the other side. Find and snap a chalk line along all the studs before you start nailing.

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Power saws also require safety glasses, of course, but you might be surprised to hear that you should not wear gloves when you’re using a circular saw. The glove could get caught and your hand could be pulled into the blade. And the gloves can be a little clumsy. So don’t wear them if you’re using any kind of saw with a circular motion, including table saws.

Inspect the blade on any power saw before you start working with it. Make sure that it's not chipped; a bad blade could cause the saw to kick back on you. Always use a fresh, sharp blade.

Ladders are dangerous almost be definition, so it’s worth taking some extra care with them, especially extension ladders. Always make sure the rubber pads at the bottom are in place. Position the ladder so the climb isn’t too steep; you don’t want it to tip backwards with you at the top. Avoid reaching over your head when you’re using an extension ladder, or any ladder, for that matter.

If you’re using power tools while you’re on the ladder, be aware that many of them create a kickback, especially a nail gun. That can throw you off balance, so make sure you’re not leaning back at all when you’re shooting nails.

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