Keeping Your Home Safe Before Electrical Repair | Florence, SC
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When it comes to protecting your home you want to make sure that you’re doing some things before you even need to call for an electrical repair. That’s because there are some basic safety features that you could be taking care of entirely on your own, without the need for someone else to take care of them for you. These are things you and your family should be paying attention to at all times, to make sure your Florence, SC home is better protected from anything.
1. Don’t Use Splitters – You’ve probably seen those power splitters all over. They’re sold for very low prices and they plug into your outlet to give you six plugs or even more. These things may seem convenient because they let you plug in multiple items in the same spot, but that can actually be a problem for the outlet that you’re using. If you’re plugging in too many things you could actually be overloading the outlet itself, which could cause it to overheat and could result in a blow fuse or an electrical fire occurring behind the walls.
2. Don’t Overload Outlets/Circuits – This may seem like it’s the same thing but the truth is you absolutely want to make sure you don’t overload an outlet or circuit even if you’re only plugging in two items. Look at how much power those items use and make sure you’re not using two things that use a large amount of power at the same time and on the same outlet or even the same circuit. This could cause the same type of problems with blow circuits and electrical fires that need more than just minor electrical repair.
3. Monitor Your Cords – This is especially true if you have pets in the house or even small children who might chew on things they shouldn’t. You want to keep track of all of the cables, cords and wires that you have in the home. If any of them are broken or they’ve been chewed on they could be extremely hazardous to your family. Continuing to use an appliance that has a faulty electrical wire could be dangerous and could put your family at great risk. You will want to get an electrical repair or replace the item immediately to make sure there’s no danger.
4. Remove Cords Carefully – When you unplug something it’s important that you take the plug out of the wall very carefully. Pulling the cord can be very dangerous and could actually cause damage to the outlet itself, the cord or the appliance. It’s also possible that the cord could fly back and hit you or someone else nearby. You want to make sure that you’re carefully removing the cord so that it’s safe and your family is safe. If it breaks you could have a serous electrical repair on your hands.
5. Keep Your Cords Visible – Running wires and cords behind the walls may seem like a great idea because it keeps everything hidden away and neat, but it also hides potential problems. If your cords are hidden in the walls you can’t see if there’s something wrong. You can’t see if a mouse has chewed on a cord and the next time you use that appliance it’s going to short out. This is extremely dangerous for everyone in your family and it means more than just a minor electrical repair if there’s something going on back there. Keeping the cords visible is a much safer way to go.
6. Keep Cords on Top – This goes along with the last point, but it refers to cords that are lying around in your home. If you have to have a cord run across a room in any way make sure that it’s completely visible. Putting the cord under the rug or under furniture may seem like a good idea but it’s very similar to hiding the cords in the walls. You don’t know what’s going on with that cord if you can’t see it. Not to mention cords hidden under things like that are a tripping hazard for the entire family and that’s not going to be an issue that you need.
7. Keep Liquids Away – We’ve all heard about how water and electricity don’t mix, but that goes for all forms of liquid. Keep your drinks, cleaning supplies and any other liquids in your home away from your electrical outlets and away from electrical devices as much as possible. You absolutely do not want a spill that gets into your electrical system. You could end up with a very serious problem and a very big electrical repair to take care of, and that’s after the danger to your family and yourself.
8. Use GFCI – These are specialty outlets that are designed for areas where you need power as well as water close together. They’re commonly in bathrooms and kitchens and they should absolutely be in your home. Some old homes may not have them, but make sure you’re calling a professional for electrical repair and getting them installed in your home. These will shut off immediately if they sense too much moisture, so there’s no danger of a short from the combination of electricity and water. But that’s still no reason to ignore basic safety.
If you need a repair, no matter what you’re looking for, make sure you call Mister Sparky of Florence, SC. We can get to your home quickly and make sure that your family is taken care of. We’ll get our team out to you to make sure that your electrical is working the way that it should. And we’ll also take care of any electrical repair you might need as well. All you need to do is let us know what’s going on with your home and we’ll make sure that it’s fixed before you know it. Our team is trained to handle minor electrical repair and major ones, so you can rest easy.