Safety Tips for Working on Your Car in the Garage
You don’t need to be a professional mechanic to work on your car at home — but you do need to take just as many safety precautions as one. Not properly preparing yourself or your garage for DIY vehicle repair jobs can result in dangerous, possibly deadly accidents.
Make sure you always follow these garage safety tips when you’re working on your car.
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Wear protective gloves and glasses: Hand and eye protection is crucial in proper garage safety. Make sure you’re wearing mechanic-grade gloves and goggles when you’re working with dangerous machinery.
Stay tight: Wear tight clothes that cover your skin, like full-length jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. No over-sized T-shirts or baggy gym shorts. Also remove all necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets, and rings. If you have long hair, tie it back.
Keep your space clean: You don’t want any unnecessary junk nearby or in your way when you’re working on the car. It could lead to an accident that would’ve been easily preventable. When you’re done with an item, put it away. That includes old chemicals, which should be disposed of properly instead of thrown away or left on a shelf.
Keep a fire extinguisher near: Always have an up-to-date, residential-size extinguisher in the garage that’s easy to locate and accessible in emergencies.
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No open flames: Working on your car involves a lot of hazardous, flammable chemicals and gases, so you should never have an open, active flame in your garage during this time. This includes pilot lights, cigarettes, candles, and anything else you’d set on fire.
Cool the car first: Don’t work on a car right after it’s been running. Let it sit and cool for a couple of hours before opening the hood and poking around.
Always double up: It never hurts to take extra safety precautions, and that’s especially true when it comes to securing your vehicle from rolling or falling. Engage the parking brake for extra immobility. If your driveway or garage is on a slant, use wheel chocks. When you’re jacking the car up, make sure the jack is made to handle the weight of your car, and always use axle stands to keep the car from accidentally dropping.
Never run the car in the garage: The toxic carbon monoxide exhaust can quickly build up and fill the garage, even if the door is open. If you plan on running the car for more than a couple of seconds, back it into the driveway and let it run there.
Take extra safety precautions when you work on your car in your garage. Doing so will let you focus on your work without being distracted by potential dangers.
Aaron is unashamed to be a native Clevelander and the proud driver of a Hyundai Veloster Turbo (which recently replaced his 1995 Saturn SC-2). He gleefully utilizes his background in theater, literature, and communication to dramatically recite his own articles to nearby youth. Mr. Widmar happily resides in Dayton, Ohio with his magnificent wife, Vicki, but is often on the road with her exploring new destinations. Aaron has high aspirations for his writing career but often gets distracted pondering the profound nature of the human condition and forgets what he was writing… See more articles by Aaron.