The Electrical Safety Checklist

The National Fire Prevention Association provides a useful checklist for homeowners concerned about electrical safety. Following this list is a great way to minimize the risk of an electrical emergency in your home or business. While this safety checklist is important, be certain never to touch your home’s wires. If you cannot see a wire for inspection, it’s best to call Mister Sparky for help as soon as possible.

The NFPA recommends calling an electrician or your landlord immediately if:

• Your home frequently has blown fuses or tripping circuit breakers
• You have a tingling sensation while touching appliances
• Your outlets are warm or discolored
• A burning or rubbery smell comes from appliances
• Lights dim or flicker
• Sparks emit from outlets

Check Electrical Wires

Electrical wires weave their way throughout our homes. Checking each one for exposed wiring, melting, fraying, cracking, or other forms of wear can help prevent a fire. If you identify a damaged cord or wire, call a professional to have it repaired. Older electrical systems are prone to having failing wires, so be certain to examine all wires in your home thoroughly.

Additionally, be certain that electrical cords are not running across doorways or under carpets. An electrical professional can help you solve this issue by installing more outlets throughout your home.

Outlet Safety

Next, check to make sure that your outlets are operating safely. Never place more than one plug into an outlet’s receptacle. Additionally, ensure that an outlet’s wiring is properly covered to avoid electric shock or burns.

Light Bulbs

Avoid mismatching a light bulb’s wattage to a lamp’s wattage. If a light bulb has a maximum wattage of 60, only use it in lamps of that power or lower. Additionally, light bulbs should always be covered by a shade or globe. As bulbs become hot during use, they should be covered to prevent something from contacting them and catching fire.

Appliance Safety

Ensure that your appliances are approved for safety by a reputable lab. When using multiple appliances, make sure that only one is plugged into an outlet at a time. Because they draw a lot of electricity, having multiple appliances using one outlet can cause wires to overheat. If lights dim while using an appliance, stop using it immediately, and contact an electrician. Dimming lights can be a sign of overheating or failing wires.

Use Fault Circuit Interrupters

There are two types of fault circuit interrupters that homes should have. First, ground-fault circuit interrupters are designed to reduce the risk of shock by shutting off an electrical circuit when needed. Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements, garages, and outdoor areas should have GFCIs.

Next, a home should have an arc-fault circuit interrupter. An AFCI helps prevent fires by monitoring the electrical current in a home and shutting off a circuit when unintentional arcing occurs.

Reinforce Your Home’s Safety with Our Electricians

While this safety checklist is a great way to identify or prevent issues, calling an electrician is crucial if you suspect your electrical systems need work. At Fuss Free Electrical, we have locations throughout all of Florida ready to provide the fast and reliable electrical work you deserve. All our locations are locally owned and operated, so our teams know common electrical problems facing homes in your area! Best of all, we’re always on time and back every aspect of our work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee!