Electrical Fire Safety Tips

We are all familiar with how electricity can do great things for us and how destructive it can be. It is good to know what electricity is how it works and know some electrical fire safety tips. Electricity is conducted through materials that let electricity flow through them easily. Most of them are metals that are good conductors of electricity. Some of these metals are aluminum, gold, silver, copper, mercury and iron. To prevent dangers and mishaps that are caused by electricity, we have listed some electrical fire safety tips here:

• Buy electrical appliances that are approved by a recognized testing lab.
• Make sure you match your electrical appliances with the correct or recommended wattage.
• Always check the cords for naked wires or cracks before plugging in.
• Keep your cords away from high traffic areas if you want to prevent them from getting damaged.
• You should never use nails and staples to attach cords to anything and don’t fold and bundle them too tight.
• Never run a cord under a mat or carpet because this can cause overheating.
• Use extension cords temporarily.
• Never try to repair damaged extension cords with tapes. Instead replace them or take them to a professional electrician.
• To avoid loosening the wires when unplugging the cords, pull them out by the head of the plug.
• Always use GFCI (Ground fault circuit interrupters) protection if you know your electrical device (like blow dry) can come into contact with water. (This is because water is a good conductor of electricity). GFCI power interrupter prevents shock. Places like bathrooms, kitchen, laundry rooms and such should have GFCI power interrupter installed. •Keep testing your GFCI frequently to make sure they are working properly.
• Turn out the power on the circuit breakers whenever your switches or outlets are felt to the touch and call for an electrician to have them professionally inspected.
• Never leave socket electrical wires exposed. Replace them and make sure they are all covered and don’t forget to cover all electric outlets whenever the children are around.
• Never overload your circuits with appliances. This can cause shock or fire.
• Label all the circuit breakers in your house. Make sure all the family members know how to shut out power at the main breaker in case of fire or any emergency.
• If the circuit panels or any electrical appliance is felt to the touch, sparks, smokes or a burning smell is coming from them, call an electrician immediately.
• Protect your sensitive electrical devices like computers, radio, TVs and others are equipped with a quality power surge. Power surge are mostly installed directly at the entrance of the electrical appliances.
• Unplug your electronics in case of lightning and thunderstorms because no power surge is stronger enough to withstand this.

Staying alert for these hazardous conditions in our surrounding is another way of keeping ourselves safe from electrical fires. Working on wet places should be avoided. Handling electrical appliances with wet hands is dangerous too. This is because water and electricity don’t mix. When combined they create a dangerous hazard which we should all be careful of. Never ignore drying wet hands before handling an electric appliance.