Car repair safety is mostly common sense. With that said, even smart careful people get tired or have a bad day. Think before you do and make it a habit. Personal safety involves precautions you take to protect yourself from injury during professional, driveway or Diy auto repairs.
This includes wearing protective gear, dressing for safety, working smart and correctly handling tools and equipment. On this car repair safety page were going to discuss the common sense basics. Also included a few things to be practiced during all auto repairs whether they are at home or in a professional shop. I own and wear all of the equipment listed on this page. Why? because I don’t want to get injured. The older I get, the longer it takes to recover.
Your eyes need to be protected most of all. It is one of the weakest links in the human body As far as inherent protection goes. As a mechanic with 26 years of experience in this business injured eyeballs are one of the most common I’ve seen from myself when I was young and fellow coworkers.
It is never pretty to have a piece of metal pulled out of your eye and it is yet so easy to prevent. Some procedures such as grinding results in tiny particles of metal and dust that are thrown off at a very high speed. This metal and dirt can easily get into your eyes causing scratches or cuts on your eyeball.
I see so many mechanics even ones on TV not wearing simple eye protection. Pressurized liquids and gases escaping from a ruptured hose or fitting can spray a tremendous distance and are extremely dangerous to your eyes and can cause blindness. It’s not a risk worth taking!
I think one of the most common eye injuries would be a mechanic underneath of the vehicle performing an inspection or operation and having dirt rust or metal fall from the vehicle and into the eye.
Eye protection should be worn whenever you are exposed to these risks. Regular prescription glasses do not offer sufficient protection and therefore should not be worn as a substitute for safety glasses. Wearing protective eye wear at all times is a good habit to get into when performing general auto repairs.
To help develop this good habit so it becomes a reflex like wearing a seat belt, spend a few extra dollars and get a pair that fit well and feel comfortable. It will certainly increase the likely hood of wearing them when needed. I like brands with real good air flow so they don’t fog up easily. However, go try several brands and pick a pair that’s right for you.
What to Wear for Car Repair
Your clothing should be well fitted and comfortable, and should be strong as well. Loose, baggy clothing can easily get caught in moving parts and machinery. Some do-it-yourself mechanics prefer to wear overalls or a shop coat to protect their personal clothing.
Your work clothing should offer protection, but should not restrict your movements. Long hair and loose hanging jewelry can create the same type of Hazard as loose fitting clothing. They can get caught in moving engine parts and machinery.
If you have long hair tie it back or tuck it under a hat. Never wear rings, watches, bracelets, or neck chains these can easily get caught in moving parts and cause serious injury.
Car repair safety should include shoes and gloves as well. Always wear shoes that are made of leather or similar material or boots with non-slip soles. Also recommended our steel tipped safety shoes that can give added protection to your feet.
Jogging shoes and sneakers along with street shoes and sandals are inappropriate for working on cars. Gloves provide great protection and are often overlooked. Gloves are worn to protect your hands from disease, injury, and also to keep them clean and protected.
There are many different kinds of gloves that can be worn by auto repair mechanics. A well-fitted pair of heavy work gloves should be worn during operations such as grinding and welding or even when handling hot components.
Polyurethane or vinyl gloves should be worn when handling strong and dangerous caustic chemicals. Even common chemicals like carburetor cleaner and brake clean can easily burn your skin.
Keep in mind that latex gloves are more comfortable to wear, but can weaken when they are exposed to these types of solvents. Your choice of hand protection should be based on what auto repair you are performing. The youngstown brand gloves above are the best pair I have purchased so far. They fit perfect (like a glove) and are great for Diy auto repairs.
Give this page a bookmark so you can come back for the work gloves.
This next page is one I wish I read years ago before I permanently damaged my hearing. For about $17 I could be saying “what” a lot less. Visit my page about noise cancelling ear protection.
The opening page for this safety section is available from the next link. Learn more about how to repair cars safely.
The next link takes you to the homepage for this DIY auto repair website. Find out more about the ase certified mechanic that built it. Learn why he thinks some people can fix cars with quality auto repair advice.