Electrical safety is essential in every home. It is the responsibility of the household head to educate every family member about safe ways to utilize electricity. He also has the prime responsibility to ensure electrical maintenance and safety at home to avoid electricity-related accidents and injuries.
Children are more vulnerable to sustaining electrical injuries given their lack of knowledge, curiosity, and playfulness. Apart from teaching them the basics about electrical safety, adults should likewise continue to supervise children and keep electrical contraptions out of their reach.
Children and electrical safety
Once they are old enough to understand basic concepts relating to electricity, like what electrical plug and water are all about, parents and adults should already educate young kids about electrical safety. They should know that electricity and water should not, and should never mix and that they could seriously get harmed once this happens.
Adults should likewise not just rely on educating their children, as the children might not have digested the information, or may not remember it all the time. Supervision and constant reminders are important to ensure electrical safety at home.
Childproofing the house
Homes with babies and toddlers who may not understand electrical safety concepts yet must be fully supervised especially in areas where they could encounter electrical fixtures and appliances. Apart from electrical injuries, they too could trip, or even get strangled on wires. They could also get choked on some fixtures and so it is crucial to supervise them all the time and at the same time childproof the house.
Once a baby learns to crawl, parents should endeavor to childproof their
Electrical outlets should remain covered. Outlets that are in areas where water could get into it like the kitchen, the bathroom, the garage, and the laundry area should be upgraded into GFCI outlets. GFCI outlets or ground fault circuit interrupter is a special kind of power outlet that automatically goes off when water gets into the outlet or the device that is plugged into it.
Homeowners should likewise refrain from using power strips and just have additional covered outlets installed within their homes. If power strips are needed, then these should be out of children’s reach. Power trips are notorious in electrocuting toddlers, as they could easily stick some metal object like a fork on it or could easily spill liquid on these contraptions.
Electrical safety at home
Unfortunately, it is not just children that fall victim to electrical injuries. Adults, the elderly, and even pets could sustain the electric shock. Usually, the injury happens due to ill-maintenance of the home electrical system.
For instance, using an already worn-out electrical outlet, or daisy-chaining plugs could cause power overloads. Power overloads could spark electrical fires that do not only damage property structures but could also claim the lives of household members.
Property owners should then make sure that the home’s electrical system remains in a safe condition. By regularly inspecting the home electrical systems, and scheduling periodic electrical safety inspections, electrical accidents and emergencies are averted. He should likewise have every electrical problem repaired as soon as they happen.
Expert Electrician’s tips for home buyers
Every buyer wants to buy the best home his budget can afford. But getting the property without having a thorough expert inspection could make the new homeowner lose some money for unforeseen repairs and significant home upgrades. This is especially true when there is a safety risk involved.
Top rated companies and expert electricians say there are red flag signs home buyers should take note of whenever touring a property they are looking to buy. While an expert eye could only confirm the presence and severity of an issue, there are obvious signs that even an ordinary homeowner could spot. Upon seeing these signs, expert electricians say they should ask for a thorough expert electrical inspection to finally confirm the problem, and see if there are other electricity-related issues in that home for sale.
Importance of an electrical safety inspection
Whats really important, apart from the obvious reason which is for safety, a thorough electrical safety inspection could save the future homeowner a significant amount of money spent on possible repairs and upgrade. While homes are usually inspected before the final negotiations, standard home inspections are not as thorough and could end up missing some crucial signs that point out a need for an expensive electrical upgrade.
With best home services, an expert electrical safety inspection conducted by an electrician contractor, homebuyers could confirm the exact condition of the electrical fixtures in the property they are buying. If the expert inspection reveals that there are electrical components that would need repairs or upgrades, then at the very least the buyer could consider the future expense when negotiating for the price of the property.
Electrical tips when buying a home
Homebuyers should look at the switch plates and outlet plates, and try to touch these areas. It should not feel hot to the touch. Likewise, it should not look burnt or have turned a lighter shade of brown. These signs mean that there is overheating within the circuit behind that outlet or switch plate. Overheating means there is faulty electrical wiring or potential power overload, both of which could spark electrical fires.
Check out the electrical panel
Check if the electrical panel seems hot, discolored, or has some parts that have melted. All these signs point out to malfunctioning and overheating electrical systems that could not supply the whole power demand of the household. Moreover, if the house still uses fuses or a fuse box, then its electrical system is outdated and would need an electrical panel upgrade. Breaker upgrades are expensive and homebuyers should raise the matter to the seller or the realtor.
Note the obvious
Dead power outlets, buzzing light switches, and fixtures flickering, and dimming of lights, as well as loose wires and outlets, are not just plain inconveniences. These are also a safety hazard that needs urgent professional attention. Take a look as well if the home seems to not have enough power outlets or overly relies on power strips. Apart from the hassle, this is also a safety hazard that calls for an immediate electrical services electrical upgrade.
Other electrical issues home buyers need to take note of are the type of electrical wiring used at home, as well as the type of outlets used within the property. Three-pronged outlets are safer, and areas, where water and electricity could meet, should have a GFCI outlet.