If you’ve accidentally broken a window with a stray rock during a lawn mowing/edge trimming task, or if gardeners or other trades personnel have accidentally broken glass it’s important to know in advance how to safely handle broken glass windows. The experts at Cairns Local Glass offer these tips for handling broken window glass to safeguard you until our emergency glass repairs can be carried out:
Safety Tip 1
Never walk in bare feet around broken glass. Put on closed toe shoes before starting any clean-up efforts involving glass.
Safety Tip 2
If a window breaks, make sure to check for broken glass inside the home, within the frame of the window and outside the window area on the ground.
Safety Tip 3
Do not pick up broken pieces of glass with bare hands. Put on heavy leather or safety gloves before handling glass pieces and try to sweep or vacuum up as much of the broken glass as possible without touching it.
Safety Tip 4
Stay calm and secure the area. Make sure children and pets are kept outside the area where the broken glass is located before beginning a clean-up project.
Safety Tip 5
To clean up small particles of glass, use several thicknesses of wet paper towels and then discard safely. Cloth napkins, cloth towels, sponges or ordinary mops should not be used for cleaning up because they can harbor tiny glass particles.
Safety Tip 6
To dispose of glass, carefully put it in a durable container (such as a sturdy box or plastic container) and label “broken glass.” Do not put glass shards or pieces in plastic bags.
Safety Tip 7
If a window is broken, do not try to “knock out” remaining glass in the frame. Safely remove the loose and fallen pieces of glass and then contact our professional team at Cairns Local Glass to repair or replace the window unit.
Safety Tip 8
Immediately post a warning sign and/or secure the area where there is broken glass until it can be successfully cleaned up.
Safety Tip 9
If your entire window glass is broken out, cover the window to help prevent additional accidents or inclement weather from coming into the home. Usually, you can tape cardboard over the opening or heavy plastic as a temporary fix.
Safety Tip 10
If the glass in a window gets broken, do not replace the glass yourself. Some replacement safety glass types require special orders, sizing of glass is important to maintain weather and integrity, and Australian Standards must be adhered to. All glass should be installed by a professional that perfectly matches the original window to Australian Standards.
The AS 1288–2021, Glass in Buildings – Selection and Installation is the Australian Standard that provides procedures for selecting and installing glass in buildings to ensure safety, particularly under conditions like wind loading and human impact. Cairns Local Glass glaziers work to these standards when working with glass in commercial buildings.
Using these standards in installation helps building owners meet their legal obligations by providing a comprehensive survey service which inspects and documents every glazing element in the premises and enables any necessary upgrade work to be completed. This also allows future reactive glass repairs and replacement work to be completed quicker with minimal disruption.
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