If you are like most people, you use electricity for many tasks throughout the day. You likely don’t give much thought to using an appliance or turning on a light. Your kids also use electricity daily, from playing on a gaming system to tapping away at their tablets. In fact, electricity has become such a mundane part of day to day life that many people have forgotten how important electrical safety at home is. You have to teach your kids how to use electricity safely to ensure they aren’t in danger.
Avoid Overloading
When older homes were constructed, they were not designed to handle multiple devices plugged into a single socket. This is because electronic devices were not as prevalent as they are today. As a result, there are typically only about one or two electrical sockets in each room.
However, with the modern demand for electricity, many more than this are needed. While it may be tempting to use power strips and extension cords to plug everything into these limited outlets, this is not a good idea. The best option is to either limit what you have plugged in at once or call an electrician to have more outlets installed. This will help prevent outages, as well as the potential for an electrical fire.
Keep Cords Out of the Way
When you start rearranging your furniture, you need to make sure you leave all the power sockets accessible. This makes it easier to turn them off and to keep the cords out of the way. If you have children running around, they may easily trip if these cords are left all over the floor. If necessary, secure the cords with clips or plastic ties.
Listen for Problems
Did you recently plug in your iron and here a faint “buzzing” sound coming from the outlet? This isn’t something you should ignore. It may indicate there is a serious issue with the outlet. Before you do anything else, turn off the socket at the wall and unplug the device. Make sure you contact an electrician before you decide to use it again. If you allow it to run without having the power checked, it may be a fire hazard, or it could cause serious damage to your electrical system.
Child Proof Your Home
If you have children, you need to serious think about electricity safety. While you may have given your home a once-over if your kids are with you all the time, this is also important for grandparents and other family members who only have kids around from time to time. Kids can move quickly and find trouble virtually anywhere. To help protect your little people, keep cords out of reach and use plastic power socket covers. Also, make sure TVs, lamps and other devices are anchored properly, so they don’t fall.
If you need additional help safeguarding your home from electrical issues, make sure to contact Teague Electric. They can help with any electrical issue present.
