Electrical safety at home

Familiar scenario…..you plug in a space heater to warm a chilly room.  You leave it on for a while, but just to be safe, you unplug it after leaving the room for any amount of time.  Or this one…you’re phone is almost dead and you turn it off and plug it in – and go to bed.  What’s wrong with that?  Usually nothing is wrong with appliances plugged in overnight, or while you’re gone.  However, there have been some studies lately showing dangers when that is done.  A federal agency recently conducted a study showing how things can go VERY wrong very quickly!

We just finished cleaning up after a fire where the homeowners had left a space heater plugged in.  No, it wasn’t turned ON, just plugged IN.  Safe, right?  Evidently not, as they came home from a relaxing weekend away to find about a 10′ section of their living room carpet burnt, soot throughout the house and singed woodwork around the heater!  Firefighters said they had no idea why the fire put itself out, but thankfully it had!

Another situation involves water and electricity.  This is a definite hazard since you have a combination of the two in the kitchen and the bathroom.  Every year, over 600 people are electrocuted in their homes.  The big danger is that we become too comfortable with the items that can hurt us.  Hair dryers, toasters, blenders; we use them daily and yet used carelessly, can kill or cause horrible damage.  Have you considered even using candles while in the tub can be dangerous?  Make sure you don’t have flammable items close by as they can contribute to the fire spreading.

Be aware of your surroundings and what you’re doing to save yourself a lot of grief later on.