Garage & Workshop

Portable generators alone cause an average of nearly 100 US carbon monoxide deaths a year — and CO from an attached garage seeps into the house

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (incl. SaferProducts.gov), 2026

Gasoline is a double hazard: vapor ignition near appliance pilot lights, and pediatric poisoning when fuel is stored in drink bottles

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2020

A green or orange jug within reach, a drip pan under the car, or fluids decanted into unlabeled containers.

Auto-reverse has been federally required on openers since 1993 — but sensors drift out of alignment and springs fail, so the protection only works if you test it

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (incl. SaferProducts.gov), 1993

Pesticides are a perennial top-10 pediatric exposure category — and in the garage that usually means loose rodent bait within reach, not a sealed bait station

America's Poison Centers, 2024 NPDS Annual Report — pesticides rank in the top ten substance categories for children five and under. Poison Help: 1-800-222-1222.

Methylene chloride paint strippers were banned from consumer sale in 2019 — but garages nationwide still hold pre-ban cans

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2019

E-bike and scooter battery fires are a growing home fire class — and the garage charging corner next to the exit is the worst-case setup

National Fire Protection Association, "The Lithium-Ion Challenge," NFPA Journal, 2024 — micromobility battery hazards have caused a growing number of fires and deaths; New York City alone has had more than 700 since 2019.

The garage's tip-over risk is heavier than the nursery's: loaded steel shelving, tool chests, and stacked storage — with 82% of tip-over ER injuries involving furniture broadly

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (incl. SaferProducts.gov), 2024

Plugged-in tools and blades at kid height turn the workshop into the garage's laceration zone

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (incl. SaferProducts.gov), 2024

Rags soaked with oil-based stains and finishes can self-heat and ignite in a pile — a fire that starts with no one touching anything

National Fire Protection Association, "Safety with Oily Rags" consumer tip sheet, 2019 — an average of 900 home fires a year start when oily rags ignite.

Arsenic-based CCA pressure treatment was phased out of residential wood at the end of 2003 — old deck boards and playset lumber stored for reuse carry it forward

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003

EPA: garage air pollutants (benzene, VOCs, CO) may be generated by car emissions and stored household products; air seal the walls, ceilings and doors between a garage and living space

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2021