5 Electrical Safety Tips For The Home Everyone Should Know

Your home is a huge investment and keeping it safe also keeps you and your family safe. Many people take electricity for granted and many don’t stop to think just how dangerous it can be or how to avoid such dangerous situations in the home. There are a few things you can do to help keep your home safe from these dangers. Following a few simple guidelines can reduce your chances of experiencing any such hazards.

Avoid using extension cords
There never seems to be enough power outlets in the home for all of the appliances and gadgets that needs power to operate. This is where many people grab the extension cords to cure this problem. A better way to attack this problem would be to purchase a good plug strip with a 2 to 3 foot cord that you can plug in to the wall outlet and gain several more power openings a little further down from the wall outlet. You get what you pay for with these items so please don’t buy the cheapest one that you can find because that is exactly what you will get. Adding a wall outlet is the best solution but that is not always the cheapest or the easiest fix.

Install the proper wattage bulbs in your fixtures
Most ceiling mounted light fixtures are rated for 60 watt bulbs or less due to the heat that they produce. Fixtures that hang down away from the ceiling are usually rated to carry higher wattage bulbs due to the bulbs not being right against the ceiling. Many times when people blow a 60 watt bulb they will replace it with a 100 watt bulb. This is not a safe thing to do because the fixture can not dissipate the extra heat that the higher wattage bulbs produce and it can heat bake the sheetrock above the fixture along with the house wires inside the electrical box. There should be a sticker on the fixture stating the maximum wattage rating for that fixture.

GFCI protected receptacles
Ground fault circuit interrupters are outlets that are designed for use around water or outdoors power requirements. Kitchens, bathrooms and any outside receptacles should have GFCI protected outlets installed. The GFCI measures the amount of incoming and outgoing current and will trip out if it is not exactly the same. This is measured from what comes in on the hot side against what leaves on the neutral. If it is not the same then there is a ground fault and the receptacle will trip and shut down the power for safety purposes. If you do not have GFCI protected receptacles installed in your home then you really should have this work done for the safety of everyone in the home.

Properly sized fuses or circuit breakers
Most homes are wired with #12 AWG wire which is rated for 20 amps and some have #14 AWG wire which is rated for 15 amps on the lighting and branch circuits. Older homes have fuses instead of breakers. Fuses can be easily replaced when one blows but many times they are not replaced with the proper sized fuse for the size of wire that it feeds. This can create a dangerous situation when they blow a 20 amp fuse then replace it with a 30 amp to keep it from blowing again. This puts a strain on the wiring because the larger fuse allows a higher amount of amps to be pulled on the wire that is not rated for that much. It is a good idea to have this checked by a certified electrician to insure that the proper sized fuses or breakers are installed according to its wire size. This is also a good time to have the connections in the electrical panel tightened to avoid any future problems from loose connections.

Check your drop cords for safety that are hanging in the shop
Are your drop cords safe to use? Many times the ground prong on the extension cords gets broken off and this can be an accident that is waiting to happen. The round third prong on your cord is the single most important one to keep you safe while using power tools and any type of equipment or appliances. You can purchase a replacement cord cap for the end of the cords and you really should do this if the ground prong is missing. Without the equipment ground intact the metal casing on a faulty power tool can become energized with 120 volts on the metal frame risking electrocution to the user. Check those cords for any other type of damage like frayed wires and replace them if needed.

A few bonus tips of the day for you
Be sure and clean the lint screen on your clothes dryer after each use. Lint can build up and cause problems or even a fire if not properly cleaned and maintained.

Do you have fire extinguishers strategically mounted in several places in your home? The kitchen and garage or shop area is a perfect place to have one or more mounted for quick access.. Just remember that an accidental fire can happen quickly and can spread quickly so having a readily accessible fire extinguisher can help avoid a disaster.

Electrically powered 120 volt smoke detectors with battery back up are a must for a reliable early warning system for the safety of the entire family. If you do not have these installed in your home it is a small price to pay for the added security that they can provide.