Electrical Safety Tips

Precautions for electrical appliances, devices, and wiring include the following:

• Buy only items that are UL-listed or approved by another accepted testing agency.
• Keep children from playing near portable heaters and kitchen appliances.
• Use kitchen and bathroom appliances on or near dry surfaces only.
• Keep combustible materials such as clothes and curtains away from heaters of any kind.
• Never cut off the grounding pin from a three-pronged plug.
• Never file down the larger prong on a polarized plug.
• Use child-resistant caps in unused receptacles.
• Install smoke detectors.
• Make sure the contact between a plug and a receptacle is solid and tight.
• Allow plenty of free space around computers, televisions, and stereo sound systems to prevent them from overheating.
• Keep metal ladders away from all power lines.
• Stay away from any downed power lines.
• Have your electrical system inspected if it’s more than 40 years old and you have no record of a recent inspection.
• Make sure all switches and receptacles have cover plates.
• At the very least, install plug-in GFCI receptacles into existing bathroom and kitchen receptacles that do not have grounding.
• Make sure light bulbs are the correct rating for their lamp or fixture. (Excessive heat can be a fire hazard.)
• Unplug portable appliances when they’re not in use, especially those near sinks. (You can be electrocuted if they fall into water—even if they’re turned off.)
• Leave electric blankets untucked.

When in doubt, always call a licensed electrician like our technicians at Dipple Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and Air.