Electrical safety is mandatory. Home electrical issues account for around 51,000 fires, 500 deaths, and 1,400 injuries annually. This shows how important it is to be more careful about your home’s electrical problems. If anything goes wrong, all the family members get into a menace. Since prevention is always better than cure, it is better to ensure that your home is safe. Electrical safety includes covered wires, secure sockets, no burning smells, safe circuit breakers carrying reasonable voltage, surge protectors, examining appliances, and electrical inspection. Make sure you keep checking your electricity condition. If a single plug is seen burnt or melted, replace it immediately. Below is the electrical safety checklist for the residential electrical services.
Install Surge Protectors
Surge protectors protect valuable electronics from dangerous peaks in voltage. Such spikes might occur if lightning strikes an electrical line or high-energy appliances turn on or off. Installing a surge protector passes an electrical current to the electronic appliances attached to the power strip. The protector moves extra power to the outlet grounding wire if a surge occurs. A whole-house surge arrestor safeguards all circuits in your home.
Check Light bulbs
The light bulbs you use at home must match the listed wattage for each fixture to avoid any safety risks and eliminate fire risks. People are normally unaware of what bulbs they should use to suit the listed wattage. Each fixture typically lists the maximum wattage and bulb type to use. If incorrect wattage or the wrong bulb is used, it leads to overheating, causing an electrical fire, you can seek help from Hygrid Electrical LLC if you want professional electrical services.
Replace Worn Extension Cords
There is no long-term use of extension cords, but people do not understand this. If you use it too long, it will lead to electrical fires. You need to walk around your home and examine all the extension cords to see if they are in the right condition. It includes ground prongs being loose and cracked insulation. If there are any signs of damage, the cord should be changed immediately. The technique to avoid unnecessary wear and tear is not to overload outlets. One needs to use extension cords only in specific indoor and outdoor locations and safeguard cords by running them under rugs so they are away from feet and furniture.
Examine Appliances
See how many appliances you have plugged into your home. There will probably be quite a few, among which many will be in the kitchen. You must check your appliances regularly, such as your oven or refrigerator. You also need to check behind your refrigerator for dust and debris affecting the coil efficiency. Ensure that the small appliances are not close to any water sources and do not overcrowd countertops where wires may be near heat sources. Keep checking the wires for damage. Some other major appliances to examine include your dryer, washer, and HVAC system.
Schedule an Inspection
In addition to all the above safety steps, a professional electrician must schedule an electrical system inspection. The inspection will help ensure that all the electrical work in the home is in good shape and there is no electrical risk. It is even more important when you have recently moved to a new place and do not know the electricity condition. Electricity inspection should be a part of home renovations. Moreover, if you have been living in a house for years, it is important to see if the electricity is safe.
Connect to a professional electrician immediately if you have moved to a new place and you see signs like dimming or flickering lights, buzzing sounds, or circuit breakers tripping. If the place is old, get an inspection done even if there are no serious issues. You should not take any risk when it comes to electrical safety.
Childproof Your House
If you have children in your house, they would not think about electric shocks. Kids are curious; they get into trouble voluntarily. It is your responsibility to make the space safe for them. It is a basic electrical safety measure since there can be sockets near the ground where a child might be crawling. One of their favorite activities is putting fingers in the socket holes. The activity is life-threatening, so you must close all the possibilities of risk. Organize loose cables to avoid stumbling. Hide the extension cable because children will go there and try to play with it. Keep children away from appliances like toasters, electric stoves, dryers, heaters, etc. Place the electronics on high shelves so that kids do not reach them. Apart from all this, teach your children to avoid dangerous things but not trust them.
Avoid Negligence
In many houses, people do not turn the switch off; they directly pull out the plug. It creates a spark and is not okay for your electrical appliances and sockets. Please do not put your microwave too close to the stove. It will get heated, which is not good for the appliance. Keep the wires of all appliances away from the stove, such as the blender, toaster, sandwich maker, etc. Give your devices some rest; for instance, do not turn on the blender for 5 minutes straight. Please turn it off in 2 minutes, give a break for a few seconds, and then turn it on again. Keep the wires away from any watery surface. This is especially for the washing machine, usually in the washing area. If the surface is full of water, do not leave the plug on the floor. It will lead to electrocution, which is life-taking.
Also learn should I replace old fuses with circuit breakers.
Conclusion
You need to stay cautious regarding any electrical issue in the house so that it is sorted before anything reaches a dangerous level. The electrical condition in a house is tricky. It requires frequent checking and cautiousness. The basic electrical safety checklist provides instructions to ensure that all the safety measures are taken and that the home is safe. Avoid any negligence and contact an electrician in case of any serious issues.
