Do You Have an Electrical Safety Checklist for Your Home?

Twice-yearly times in other states change. This can help you remember it’s also time for your home’s electrical safety check. As one facet of a three-pronged home safety regimen, which also includes fire and chemical components, electrical products pose year-round hazards.

Do You Have an Electrical Safety Checklist for Your Home?The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends this six-point electrical safety checklist with examples of what to look for to help keep your family out of harm’s way:

1. All rooms

  • Double-check each light bulb to make sure it’s the recommended wattage for each lighting fixture. Bulbs that exceed wattage recommendations may overheat fixtures and cause fires.
  • Examine electrical cords for fraying, cracking or other damage.
  • Install safety covers on all unused electrical outlets to keep children safe from shock and burn injuries.
  • Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets should be installed in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room where the possibility of electrocution is higher.
  • Use three-prong adapters, properly grounded, to attach newer three-prong plugs to older two-prong outlets.

2. Kitchen

3. Bathrooms

  • Keep all appliances unplugged unless you’re using them.
  • Only plug appliances into GFCI outlets.
  • If you need a supplemental heat source in your bathroom, use a fixed-fan unit instead of a portable heater.

4. Bedrooms

  • Inspect electric blankets for charred stains and discard the blanket if you see any.
  • When in use, remove anything that rests on top of electric blankets – even another blanket – because the additional covering can cause the blankets to overheat.

5. Basements and Garages

  • Install only correctly sized fuses in your circuit breaker box.
  • Use only double-insulated electrical power tools or those that have three-prong plugs.
  • Unplug tools when not in use, and store them in dry areas.

6. Outside

  • Install weatherproof covers on all exterior outlets.
  • Use extension cords rated for outdoor use only.

In the Yuma area, Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company can custom-tailor an electrical safety checklist for your home and perform a professional energy evaluation to identify areas of concern. Call us with any questions you have.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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