One of the leading causes of fire is an electrical fire, and this fact has not changed yet. They are not only common but they are increasing the rate of deaths and serious property damage. Proper precautions are needed and this could only be brought by home electrical safety inspection so that electrical malfunctioning can be prevented.
Various approaches could save our home from an electrical fire, a few of them including inspection of appliances, electric meter inspection, and electric checks in circuits. So, the protection of you and your family requires a certain checklist to be followed so that electrical dangers can be avoided. You can call the electrical inspector who is an authorized person by the government to inspect your house. Some of these are as follows:
Limit the Electrical Socket Flash:
In our homes, the kitchen is the most probable place that has a higher number of circuits, and socket flashes. These have to deal with the heavier load of the appliances that are used daily, although this has not been the same in other places at home like in the bathroom or the bedroom as it has a limited number of electrical sockets. To ensure that your circuits are not stressed out, you must avoid putting two or more appliances in a heating socket at a time (like a toaster, juicer, blender, or straightener in the same circuit).
Heavy or larger appliances like ovens or microwaves must be injected into different outlets instead of plugged into the same extension or outlet extender. Because extenders are often used to resist the more flow of electricity which draws direct current from the circuit hence increasing the chances of fire. while if the light fixture has a wattage list on it this means you can only use a 60-watt bulb or less but not more than that.
Inspect Your Cords:
The electrical inspection also includes often checking the cord or wiring. If you see torn, fraying and exposed wiring from your cords, then you need to immediately replace them or shut off the power until you do so. If cords for the small appliances are worn out you can easily replace them and there would be no issues, on contrary, for larger appliances the electrician needs to be called on so that they can replace the cord professionally so that there is no chance of a spark.
You can call an electrician for installing additional outlets in the house because excessive cords in the homes mean that there are many family members but the outlets are short and unable to meet the needs. The higher number of outlets will reduce the number of cords hence improving the electrical safety of the home. While if you are going to purchase the power cords, make sure that you need to understand how much electrical load it can bear, for example, if there is a load of 16 AWG then its means it can handle 1,375 loads of electricity, approximately.
Checking of the Wattage of Bulbs:
Size fixtures and the right wattage of the bulb must be compatible with each other for an effective electrical circuit in homes. Some of the sparks or fires generate because fixtures are of more capacity than the bulb of that fixture which is of lower wattage, while bulbs of higher wattage in a low fixture can lead to a fire. You only have to use a 20–25-watt bulb in the case where there are unmarked ceiling fixtures at your home.
Always Know the Position of Your Electrical Lines:
Often homeowners clean their gutters and trim their trees vis DIY, but some failed to follow precautions and sometimes they fall on overhead electrical cords because they don’t know their position. While doing chores like these, one needs to know where their electrical lines are to avoid the incident that could outbreak the fire. for example, if you have underground power cables, and you had incidentally broken down a few of them then you immediately need your utility company to fix them so that they could not get further damaged. Not only this, they offer their services to mark the land where your power lines reside so that you don’t surpass them or strike them while digging in the future.
Checking of Breaker Box:
Sometimes, the circuit breakers in your home are labeled which identifies which kind of circuit breaker it is. Everyone in the home must know where the fuse box or circuit breakers is located either in the basement or in the garage, how it can be turned off, and how the power can be restored.
You always need to reset your tripped circuit breakers because the tripping indicates that these are overloading which can cause fire r electrical spark at any time. If you are unable to do, you need to consult a professional electrician.
Constantly Watch Out for Overloaded Outlets:
Electrical problems can be caused mainly because of outlet overloading. You need to assure that they are always cool to touch, are in proper working order, and have protective faceplates. There are some of the tips regarding electrical outlet safety, which are;
1: It is not wise to use extension cords or other multi-cords converters for larger appliances.
2: Use only one heating appliance in the electrical outlet at one time.
3: Call the qualified electrician the checking hot outlets.
4: Outlet power load can be regularized through the smart plugs, while you can shut off the devices in the case when the outlet begins to heat up.
Electrical Safety Through Following Instructions of Appliances:
At any appliance, there is a written phrase stating; “read the instructions”, always, which means that you need to go through every instruction before operating the electrical appliances to maintain the safety of your home against electrical hazards. Understanding how the appliance is working and could be operating ensure the improvement of safety in the house and your safety as well.
If there is an appliance that gives you an electrical shock even the slightest one, you need to stop using it until the appliance is replaced or checked by the electrician who checks its issue regarding shocks and sparks.
The above checklist is meant to provide awareness regarding electrical hazards, their reasons, and safety measures that we can take because electricity is an integral part of our lives. As we highly relied on electrical appliances for cooking to clean our home, we must consider electricity safety precautions for operating these appliances on daily basis. If we follow the above checklist and call an electrician for doubts, we can minimize the risk of electrical incidents and fire.
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