Garages are fun places for a kid. There are hiding places to crawl into, shelves and counters to climb, tools to play with and containers to open. Unfortunately, what seems harmless fun to them can lead to fatal accidents.

If you have children or grandchildren, you should be just as thorough about childproofing your garage as you are about the rest of your home. Here are 20 ways you can make you can childproof your garage.

1. Frequently test your garage door opener. Make sure it will automatically reverse if a child is below its photoelectric sensor line.
2. If your garage door opener is within reach of small hands, raise it.
3. Keep children away from the moving parts of your garage door.
4. Always lock your vehicle doors and trunk before leaving the garage.
5. Keep any keys that can start a vehicle or power tool away from children.
6. Lock any space a child might choose to crawl into and hide. This includes washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, recycling containers and large cabinets.
7. Secure bicycles and motorcycles so they can’t fall on a small child.
8. Keep all chemicals and toxic liquids tightly sealed and high out of reach of children. This includes gasoline, motor oil, lawn chemicals, cleaning solutions, antifreeze, pest control poisons, paint, paint thinner and paint remover.
9. Store lawn care tools so they cannot fall on or be accessed by children.
10. Lock up all power tools.
11. Store any tool with a sharp or pointed edge out of the reach of children.
12. Place vices, clamps, bolts, nuts, screws and similar items in a secure location.
13. Empty melted ice water out of coolers. A child can drown in one inch of water.
14. Store brooms and shop vacs so kids will not be tempted to play with them.
15. Flip buckets upside down so no liquids can accumulate in them, creating a drowning hazard.
16. Store your sports equipment (bats, barbells, etc.) out of a child’s reach.
17. Keep matches in a safe place.
18. Build a childproof barrier around a furnace or water heater in your garage.
19. Do not store chemicals in plastic milk jugs or juice containers. Children associate them with liquids they drink. Also, chemicals could eat through the containers and create a dangerous leak.
20. Do not use mothballs in the garage to drive away pests. Mothballs are poisonous to children and pets.

Tagged as: childproof your garage, Garage Door Safety, homeowner tips