Treat your home to an occasional electricity check with these safety tips!
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If you are a new homeowner or even an experienced homeowner, it is important to understand the importance of electricity safety to ensure you have a safe home that you and your family can enjoy. As the saying goes, “Better safe than guilty,” this applies very well to electrical safety. You need to check your home to make sure everything is running smoothly. From your wiring to circuit breakers, outlets and plugs, it is very important that everything is working safely and in good condition. You should also keep in mind that electricity is not a game. You must know that electricity is powerful and we must have great respect for it by learning, having the right tools or simply calling a professional to handle it if we don't have the knowledge. Here's a list of some things to look out for to ensure your home is securely wired:
Blown fuses and tripping circuit breakers?
If your fuses regularly blow and your breakers trip frequently, it's time to call a professional to look at your home. There may be a short or other underlying electrical issue that could be causing this and potentially harming you and your family. Make sure you get an electrical inspection done by a real electrician who knows what they're doing.
Make sure the circuits are grounded
You would be surprised at home that many older homes do not have grounded circuits. This all comes from homeowners who long ago did electrical work themselves or hired their buddy to do the job. You must ensure that all of your circuits are properly grounded and that the wiring is connected to a ground wire in your home. If you are unsure how to do this, you should call a professional. One of the top electricians in Los Angeles once told me it's better to pay more and have peace of mind than save and risk harming yourself or a family member. We tend to agree!
Protect sockets from children
If you are a young family with children, or if you have grandchildren, it is important to protect outlets, but install outlet guards or replace them with tamper-resistant outlets. This will immediately make your home much safer for you and your little ones.
Keep cables away from heat sources
Make sure all your plugs, electrical cords, and extension cords are kept well away from heat sources such as a lighted fire, radiator, or space heater. You don't want a heat source heating electrical wires and potentially starting a fire. You should also avoid running cords under furniture, rugs or blankets as this could potentially pose a fire hazard if there is a spark from the power source.
Keep an eye on suspicious activity
Any suspicious activity with your stream is a good reason to have it checked. Dimming lights, flickering lights, crackling noises or a burning smell are reason enough to call in a professional to check your home's wiring. These problems will never go away on their own, they can only get worse. If you don't have the knowledge to check your home's wiring yourself, hire a pro to do the job!
renovation of your home
If you're starting your home renovation, now is the perfect time to take a look at your home's electrical system and maybe update some things that need updating. For example, tamper-proof outlets are now code-mandated in all new homes, so it would be worth replacing your outlets with these. Find out about your county's new electrical code and update your home's wiring to the latest safety standards.
