What’s your New Year’s resolution? Will you quit smoking, start exercising, lose weight, volunteer your time?
How about something even easier: Remove risk factors for electrical shocks, tripping and house fires from your home.
Here are 10 ways to keep that resolution and protect your family from harm.
1. Secure plugs. When loose-fitting plugs hang partway out of an outlet, they put you at risk of an electrical shock and can even start a fire. Replace older outlets and check to ensure the prongs on the device are not the problem. If they’re bent or twisted, you may want to consider replacing the device, even if it’s newer. If your family includes young children, insert plastic safety caps into unused outlets for extra safety.
2. Use three-prong plugs, especially outdoors and in bathrooms and kitchens. The third prong is a grounding outlet. If you only have two-prong outlets, ask an electrician to update your home. Never remove the grounding pin to fit a three-prong plug into a two-prong outlet.
3. Add GFCIs. Ground-fault circuit interrupters are a must in every outlet in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry, garage and outdoors. GFCIs are fast-acting circuit breakers that shut off power in the event of a ground fault.
4. Avoid extension cords for long-term use. They’re fine for connecting strands of holiday lights together and for helping decorations reach plugs during December. But come January 1, pack them up and store them properly. Extension cords are designed for temporary use.
5. Pay attention to wattages. The lightbulbs in your lamps and overhead fixtures should match the specifications on those fixtures. A bulb whose wattage is too high can overheat.
6. Replace cords. They’re not designed to last forever. Toss frayed or cracked cords, and move them out from under rugs where they could experience pinching or extra wear.
7. Resize your fuses. If you don’t know whether your fuses are the right size for the circuit they’re protecting, call an electrician.
8. Update appliances. If a circuit trips every time you plug in your hair dryer, or if your coffeemaker has ever shocked you when you plugged it in, you either have faulty appliances or an overloaded circuit. An electrician can identify and solve your problem.
9. Check your wiring. Faulty electrical wires start many house fires. Do you hear popping or sizzling sounds behind the walls? That could be the sound of electricity arcing between connectors. Does an electrical outlet or light switch feel hot? It could be bad wiring putting off heat. Do not use those fixtures, switches or outlets until a licensed electrician has replaced them.
10. Get more power. Unless you live in a fairly new house, you’re probably using more electricity than the builder ever dreamed you would. Call an electrician to determine whether your home needs more electrical capacity.
