Electrical Resolutions for 2017

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A new year marks another opportunity to change bad habits.  Sometimes, people don’t realise that their habits make an impact to their future safety.  Your family’s safety should be at the top of your list.  Most home fires are caused by minor electrical issues, which could have been prevented, and many of these fires were reported as electrical faults.  This year, let’s start breaking our bad electrical habits to prevent being part of next year’s statistics.

Here are some things that we can all make good habits from:

  • Your home should have sufficient circuit breakers, socket outlets and lighting.Ensure that any old wiring is replaced or fixed.  Give your local electrician a call and he’ll be able to advise if your wiring is both modern and safe.
  • Ensure that devices and appliances are compatible with your home’s electrical supply.Time goes by and technology advances, so we also increase the usage of our devices, gadgets, and appliances. Not having sufficient electrical supply to cope with our demands can cause electrical failures.
  • Avoid cord tangling.Flowing current generates heat, and coiled cords create fire hazard. Avoid wrapping or coiling from now on as the metal components inside cords are bent back and forth, and eventually become weaker.
  • Avoid the chaining extension cords.One of our bad habits is plugging another extension cord after the other when wall outlets are too far away from our devices or appliances. This exceeds the power capacity of a single power board or extension cord, and can very much lead to fire.
  • Stop yanking the cords.Make it a habit to pull out the plug instead of pulling out the cord.
  • Clean regularly.Piles of dust can be a fire hazard so make sure to clean your home regularly. A notorious area is at the bottom of home desks, around the computer box.
  • Always read outlet limits.Plugging an 80 or 100-watt bulb into a 60-watt bulb socket can easily cause fire. Make it a habit to read before you plug.
  • Don’t leave your laptops in bed.We are all guilty of using our laptops in bed, but make it a habit to put it back on the table. Storing your laptop on flammable surfaces like rugs and beds restricts its cooling vents, which can cause overheating.  Overheating causes damage to your laptop, which eventually causes fire.
  • Don’t leave phone chargers plugged in and on when not in use.This is another common cause of fires.
  • Let appliances breathe.Appliances (refrigerator, microwave, dryer etc) should all have enough space at the sides and back to allow airflow.  However, they should also not have things stacked on top which will reduce flow or keep the appliance hot.   A perfect example of what not to do is having a stack of washing on top of a dryer which is in use.
  • Turn off appliances when you leave the house.We sometimes leave certain appliances, such as the dryer or dishwasher, running when we leave the house. Most of the time, we think just because we’ll only be away for an hour, it’ll be fine.  It is better safe than sorry.  Make it a habit to turn off appliances whenever you leave the house, even if you’ll only be away for a short time.
  • Check for appliance recalls.Make it a habit to check for recalls so you can return or have defective appliances replaced.

Some of these tips may seem like a little too much work, but safety should be everyone’s top priority.  Change your habits, and you change your fate.  If you think you have an electrical problem at home, or need advice about electrical safety, call me on 0403 026 531 immediately and have peace of mind.