Electrical Safety at Home | Safety Tips Everyone must Know

Let’s talk about the Electrical Safety Tips at home. According to the National Fire Protection Association, wiring problems and damaged equipment cause 69% of electrical fires, followed by lamps, light fixtures, cords, plugs, transformers, and other power supplies. When looking for potential fire hazards in your home, a professional should always be consulted.

Electricity-related accidents in homes are generally caused by a lack of knowledge and experience in electrical safety. Here are some Safety Measures that everyone must follow: 

1. Always ensure that you follow the appliance’s instructions to prevent electrical accidents. Understanding home appliance safety improves both the performance of your device and your personal safety. Should any appliance give you even a slight electrical shock, stop using it until a qualified electrician checks it for problems. “Read the instructions” should top the list of electrical safety tips at home. To keep your home safe, keep an eye out for overloaded outlets.
2. Overloading an electrical outlet is a common cause of electrical problems. Check all outlets to ensure they are cool to the touch, have protective faceplates and are in proper working order.
3. Do not use extension cords or multi-outlet converters for appliances. Only plug one heat-producing appliance into an outlet at a time.
   Remember that power strips only add outlets – they do not change the amount of power the outlet receives.
   Smart Plugs can be used to monitor outlet power loads and even shut off appliances should an outlet begin to overheat.
4.  Keep your home safe by replacing or repairing damaged electrical cords. Damaged power cords are a serious residential electrical safety risk, and they can cause both fires and electrocution. All power and extension cords should be checked regularly for signs of fraying and cracking, and they should then be repaired or replaced as needed. Power cords should not be stapled into place or run under rugs and furniture. Cords under rugs pose a tripping hazard and can overheat, while furniture can crush cord insulation and damage wires.
5. Protect your cords from damage by keeping them tidy and secure. Electrical safety tips don’t just apply to power cords when they’re in use—cords also need to be stored safely to prevent damage. Keep stored cords away from children and pets (who may chew on or play with the cords). Try to avoid wrapping cords tightly around objects; this can stretch the cord or cause overheating. Never rest a cord on a hot surface in order to prevent damage to the cord’s insulation and wires.
6. Reduce potential risks by unplugging all unused appliances. One of the simplest electrical safety tips is also one of the easiest to forget: when an appliance is not in use, unplug it. Not only does this save you power by reducing any phantom drain (the amount of energy the device consumes even when not actively in use), but unplugging unused appliances also protects them from overheating or power surges. It’s often difficult to remember to unplug unused appliances, but the new generation of smart plugs offers a solution, allowing you to set power schedules for each outlet
7. To avoid electric shock, keep electrical outlets and devices away from water. Water and electricity doesn’t mix well. To follow electrical safety rules, keep electrical equipment dry and away from water prevents damage to appliances and can protect against personal injury and electrocution. When working with electrical appliances, it’s it is important to have dry hands. Keeping electrical equipment away from plant pots, aquariums, sinks, showers and bathtubs lowers the risk of water and electricity coming into contact.
   
8. Maintain proper air circulation around your appliances to prevent overheating. Without proper air circulation, electrical equipment can overheat and short out, and can become an electrical fire hazard. Make sure your appliances have proper air circulation, and avoid running electrical equipment in enclosed cabinets. For best electrical safety, it’s also important to store flammable objects well away from all appliances and electronics. Pay especially close attention to your gas or electric dryer as these need to be situated at least a foot from the wall to function safely.
   
9. Always ensure that all your exhaust fans are clean to prevent fire hazards. Some appliances have exhaust fans, which can get dirty or clogged with debris and make the appliance work harder. This can shorten the life of the appliance and can cause a risk to the home due to overheating, or even cause a buildup of dangerous gasses that can lead to an electrical fire hazard. Cleaning exhaust fans regularly helps prevent such hazards.
10. Ensure that you’re using the correct wattage in all your fixtures and appliances. Using the right bulbs can prevent electrical problems, so check all lamps, fixtures and appliances to ensure you’re using the correct wattage. If a light fixture has no wattage listed, use 60-watt bulbs or less. For unmarked ceiling fixtures, choose 25-watt bulbs. Pro tip: LED bulbs consume less power and reduce the risk of fixtures overheating.

Be aware of heaters and water heaters to prevent potential accidents. Combustible items should be kept away from portable heaters and built-in furnaces. For furnace safety, store combustibles far away from any heating appliances. Portable heaters should not be operated close to drapes, and to prevent tipping, they should only ever be placed on a stable surface.

On a related note, do you know what temperature your water heater is set to? High temperature settings eat into your water heater energy usage and can cause burns and unintentional scalding, especially in homes with small children.

A good natural part of learning in the early lives of children is based on curiosity. But it can also prove to be dangerous when it comes to electricity! Teaching children about electricity and electrical power can keep them away from harm. In this article, we cover in depth how to keep your precious little one away from electrical hazards and allow them to be their creative best.

Dangers of Electricity for Children

There might be times when you feel a shock when you touch the doorknob or another person. What you experienced was shock from static electricity. An actual electric shock is very painful and can even result in death.

Electricity can cause severe burn injuries, fatal shocks and even death.

• The muscles in the body get tightened up and cause choking making it difficult for the child to breathe.
  It causes the heartbeat to get disrupted which in turn constricts the blood vessels.
• Electricity if not handled properly has the potential to cause severe internal damage many hours later after experiencing the shock.
• If you know how and take care, you can avoid all of these scary situations.

Human beings are a good conductor of electricity which is why electricity flows easily through our body. Our body is made up of 70% water and electricity is known to move quickly through the water. One more fact to remember is that electricity will always try to find the easiest path to the earth or ground. Look at the points below to keep your child safe.

Here are some Electrical Safety Measures for children at home:

1. Install safety caps and covers over all outlets to keep your kids safe. Installing safety caps and covers on outlets prevents children from inserting objects into the outlet, protecting them from shock.

2. Prevent accidents by teaching your kids to avoid yanking on cords. Tell your kids not to pull on electrical cords. Yanking can damage or fray the cord and compromise electrical safety. For kids, show them to pull cords out of an outlet by carefully holding the plug, and not pulling on the cord.

3. Place dangerous appliances out of reach of small children. Keep dangerous appliances away from children until they are old enough to operate them properly and understand electrical safety at home. Tips include storing toasters, blenders and electrical kettles on high shelves or in locked cupboards or anywhere where children cannot access them.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, wiring problems and damaged equipment cause 69% of electrical fires, followed by lamps, light fixtures, cords, plugs, transformers, and other power supplies. When looking for potential fire hazards in your home, a professional should always be consulted.