You may already know the basics of dealing with electrical devices, but ensuring electrical safety at home is an entirely different issue. Simple dos and don’ts regarding the proper handling, plugging, or installation of electrical appliances can actually pose a huge threat to the safety of your family. Now that home fires caused by electrical problems is already one of the leading security issues around the globe, you have to exert extra effort in maintaining proper degrees of electrical safety at home.
So how can you keep your home safe from the huge damage caused by neglected electrical hazards? Here are some electrical safety tips that can decrease your chances of experiencing a great loss due to electrical fire and other accidents.
Conduct a thorough home inspection
Whether you are living in a new or old home, some electrical hazards may always remain unnoticed. It is your responsibility to address all those potential threats before they hurt your family or damage your home. Start by checking the wattage of every bulb in your home. Make sure that each bulb has a wattage that is appropriate to the size of fixtures. Excessively high wattage is a great threat to electrical safety because it may overheat and cause electric fire.
Next, inspect the extension cords you are using in your home. To ensure electrical safety at home, you have to make sure that they are not blocking walking areas. If you were not able to hide them properly, they can become tripping hazards and spark fire hazards. Make sure that they are in excellent condition because damaged cords are also great threats to the electrical safety of your home.
Finally, observe all the switches and wall outlets installed in your home. Are they all working properly? Damaged electrical outlets are strong indications of dangerous wiring conditions. If you can hear a crackling, buzzing, or sizzling sound in one of your outlets, you have to call a licensed electrician to locate the cause of the problem.
Keep your kitchen safe
You can also ensure electrical safety at home by checking all your kitchen appliances. Keep their cords away from hot surfaces that may damage them due to excessive amounts of heat. Store them in a place that is far from the sink to prevent electric shocks due to sudden contact with water. If you have already experiencing a large shock from any of your kitchen appliances, do not touch them until a licensed electrician has inspected them.
Check your bathroom
Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters, also known as GCFIs, play a huge role in promoting proper electrical safety at home. You have to protect all your bathroom outlets with GFCIs because they have higher risks of causing electric shock. Keep curling irons, hair dryers, and other electrical devices unplugged when they are not in use. They can turn into great electrocution hazards if ever they accidentally fall into the water or wet floor.
Always inspect your bedroom
Household safety tips will never be complete without the need for bathroom inspection. Always check your portable heaters and keep them away from things that can easily catch fire. To maintain electrical safety at home, install smoke alarms in your bedrooms and outside your sleeping areas to prevent the damage that a huge electric fire may cause.
Check your breaker box
Give your garage or basement a visit every time you need to inspect your circuit breaker or fuse box. Label them to make sure that you can easily identify which circuits power different areas in your home. If you have been resetting your circuit breakers on a regular basis, this may mean that one of their circuits is already overloaded. If this happens, call a licensed electrician because he knows every angle of electrical safety at home.
After doing these steps, you can easily make sure that your home is safe from electric fire or other kinds of electrical safety hazards. Always remember that electrical safety at home is always an important element in keeping your family safe at all times.