Auto salvage yards aren’t inherently dangerous places. However, like any setting that contains automotive equipment that people perform manual labor on, neither are auto salvage yards proverbially made of pillows. There are plenty of hard, pointed surfaces and heavy parts that could potentially cause injury. By taking the four steps below, you greatly reduce your chance of getting scraped, bruised, or worse.
1. Wear Steel Toe Boots
Granted, not everyone has a pair of steel toe footwear in the closet. If you do, though, wearing them to auto salvage yards to remove parts is a good idea, especially if you plan on pulling heavy parts that could smash your feet they’re accidentally dropped.
Salvage yards often have a policy against wearing open toe footwear, but it’s best to wear the sturdiest pair of kicks you have. If you’ve every had a painful foot injury, you know how much it can complicate your daily life.
2. Wear Construction Gloves
Removing parts from an automobile in a salvage yard can be like doing construction work for a few minutes: You’ll be using tools to perform tasks that require you to consider hand safety. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow the lead of construction workers, and wear gloves that are made of a heavy material that’s puncture-resistant but lets you maintain manual dexterity.
These type of gloves are also great for performing car work in your garage or taking on do-it-yourself home construction projects. If you need to buy a pair of construction gloves, at least you can use them in places besides a salvage yard.
3. Arrive Alert and Ready
You don’t need to drink a pot of coffee before you go to a salvage yard, but it’s a good idea not to show up after having a romping good time at happy hour. Most salvage yards will turn you away if you try to bring libations on the property, because removing parts from a car when you’re tipsy is like driving a car when you’re tipsy. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get injured, but the chance certainly increases with the number of drinks.
4. Avoid Tools That Cause Sparks
Flame cutters, handheld grinders, battery-powered metal saws… Basically, any tool that could easily produce sparks should be left at home. The cars you pull parts from won’t have gasoline or motor oil in their reservoirs, but the engines may have some surface fluid residues that could ignite.
If you find that a salvage yard bans flame cutters and the like, the business probably isn’t just trying to protect its assets; it’s likely attempting to protect its customers, too.
About Our Business
Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard with Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We maintain safe, clean lots that have common sense safety rules to protect our customers. If you need a used car part, please visit our online inventory today to see if we have the vehicle that contains the component.
