Electrical Safety Tips: Stay Safe with This Guide

Electrical Safety Tips: Stay Safe with This Guide

Ten Electrical Safety Tips for Every Home

In this modern world, electricity currents are coursing all around us in our homes, helping us accomplish our daily activities. But remember that electricity still poses a possible danger to your home. Avoid accidentally causing a fire with these electrical safety tips.

  1. Keep Your Electrical System Up-to-DateWoman holding a checklist checking her home's electrical system

If you’re in an older home with outdated wiring, you need to contact an electrical professional to take a look at the state of your home’s wiring. Over time, elements of your wiring may have degraded or been damaged.

Older wiring also may not be able to provide the power needed to keep all of your technology and appliances running. The amount of energy is greater per each appliance today than the items they used 20 or 50 years ago. Getting it checked out and upgraded if needed will keep your home safe.

[Related: Common Causes of House Fires]

  1. Use Appliances with Caution

Make sure you’re using appliances or items with electrical connections correctly. This means keeping appliances away from water and moisture. Another tip is to give your technology that generates internal heat space to breathe. This will allow air to circulate properly and keep the appliance or device from overheating.

  1. Regularly Check your Electrical Cords

It’s a good safety measure to regularly check the most frequently used electrical cords in your home. Check them for frays and cracks; these can leave holes for electricity to run through and harm anything it touches. If you do discover frays and cracks, stop using that cord and get a replacement. Don’t cover cords with fabric material such as a rug or modify cords yourself. If you believe that your cords are damaged, ask a professional to take a look.

To make your cords last longer, unplug them by grabbing at the base of the plug instead of yanking it out of the wall by the cord section.

  1. Avoid Overloading OutletsImage of a basic electrical outlet

Overloading an outlet is one of the most common causes of a house fire. Don’t try to put too many plugs into one outlet. If you require more outlets than your power strip can handle, then it’s time to look into getting more outlets installed in your home.

  1. Warm Outlets? Beware

A glaring sign of an electrical issue in your home is a warm or hot outlet. Warmth or sparking from an outlet often means that electricity is arcing inside. Using outlets like this puts your home at risk of a fire. Call an electrical professional to fix the problem.

[Related: How to Prevent a Clothes Dryer Fire]

  1. Don’t Ignore Frequently Flickering Lights

It’s typical for lights to flicker every once in a while. But if the lights throughout your house are constantly flickering, then it’s a possible sign that your home’s wiring system can’t handle the amount of power used daily. There may be too many connections on a single circuit, or you may need to replace your electrical panel.

  1. Block Unused Outlets

If you have small children living in your home, then we suggest you block any unused outlets for their safety. The last thing that needs to happen is an accident because a child was unknowingly playing with an outlet. Cover unused outlets with a solid plate or plug them up with safe plug covers.

  1. Ground Older Appliances

Grounding means that electrical energy is being directed from the appliance to the earth with a resistant conductor. Check to see if your appliance is grounded properly, if not, it can pose a safety threat. If you have older or large appliances with a two-prong plug, you should replace them with a new version that has the ground prong for your safety.

  1. Be Familiar with Your Breakers

You should be familiar with the electrical breakers in every home you live in. If you notice your breakers tripping frequently, then it may mean that you’re overloading a circuit. You need to reconfigure your appliances or update your wiring system to prevent this from continuing or turning into a bigger safety hazard.

  1. Do You Have Fire Damage? Contact the Remediation Professionals at CLEAR Restoration

If you’ve experienced fire damage, small or big, in your home due to an electrical fire, call 225-245-3575 to talk to the remediation experts at CLEAR Restoration. Our team will restore your home as quickly as possible with structural restoration, cleaning, and deodorization so you can get back to taking care of your family. Reach out to us today to assess the damage.

[Related: Fire Restoration FAQs]

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