Electricity Safety Checklist

5/25/2018 (Permalink)

Electricity Safety Checklist

• Call a qualified electrician or your landlord if you have: 
  Frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers
• A tingling feeling when you touch an electrical appliance
• Discolored or warm wall outlets
• A burning or rubbery smell coming from an appliance
• Flickering or dimming lights

• Sparks from an outlet q Inspect your home for hidden electrical hazards. 
• Inspect your home for hidden electrical hazards.
• Check electrical cords to make sure the wires are not damaged, cracked or loose. If the cords need to be repaired, take the item to a professional repair shop, hire an electrician or replace with a new item.
• Make sure cords are not running across doorways or under carpets. If they are, have a qualified electrician install more outlets.
• Keep children away from electric cords and outlets. Cords placed in the mouth can cause a burn and objects placed in a receptacle can cause a shock, burns or electrocution.
• Make sure that all receptacle outlets and switches have faceplates.
• Never put more than one plug in each receptacle. An outlet may have one or more receptacles — one to receive each plug.
• Be sure that the bulbs in your lights match what is safe for the lamp. There should be a sticker that indicates the maximum wattage for the light bulb — such as use maximum of a 60 watt bulb.
• Light bulbs in the living area of your home, including closets, should have a shade or globe for protection. Light bulbs can get very hot and cause a fire if something that can burn is too close.
• Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) reduce the risk of shock by shutting off an electrical circuit when the circuit could be a shock hazard. Your home should have GFCIs in the kitchen, bathroom(s), laundry, basement, garage, and outdoor areas.
• Heat producing appliances such as a toaster, coffee maker, iron or microwave oven draw a lot of electricity. Plug only one heat producing appliance in each outlet to prevent wiring from overheating.
• Buy only appliances that are listed by a qualified testing laboratory.
• Arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) protect against fire by monitoring the electrical current in a circuit and shutting off the circuit when unintended arcing occurs. AFCIs should be installed in your home. If not, have a qualified electrician install them for you.
• Keep ladders away from overhead power lines, including the electrical service into your home.