Staying Safe with Electricity

Electricity is an integral part of our lives, powering our lights, appliances and gadgets. We use it so often and so mindlessly that many of us have forgotten its dangers.

Direct contact with electricity can cause shocks and burns, while faulty wiring and malfunctioning electrical appliances can cause fires. The Electrical Safety Council estimates that household electrical accidents, including electrocutions and fires, cause 70 deaths and 350,000 injuries in the UK each year. Electricity is behind 20,000 home fires annually, with electric cooking and laundry appliances the biggest culprits.

Educating yourself about electricity and its hazards and taking a few precautions can prevent nearly all electrical accidents in the home. The following electrical safety tips will keep your family and house safe from mishaps and tragedies.

Electricity safety in the kitchen

With a dangerous combination of appliances, water and cooking equipment, kitchens are the most common starting place for house fires. Here’s how to stay safe around electricity when cooking.

• Keep electrical leads for appliances and gadgets away from the sink and hobs.
• Unplug the toaster before you try to retrieve that singed piece of toast.
• Plug all white goods, including fridge-freezers, washing machines and dishwashers, directly into wall outlets and not into power strips or extension leads.
• Keep anything flammable away from hobs and heat-generating appliances. That includes tea towels, paper towels, coffee filters and curtains.
• Keep anything wet away from electrical gadgets. That includes sponges, wet towels and potted plants.
• Make sure appliances are well ventilated. Without enough air circulation,appliances can overheat and short. Don’t run electrical equipment in closed cupboards.
• Regularly inspect appliances, looking out for frayed leads and scorch marks.
• Turn off and unplug appliances before cleaning them.
• Defrost your freezer and refrigerator at least once a year to ensure these appliances are working correctly.
• Clean exhaust fans. If they’re clogged, appliances may overheat and cause fires.

Electricity safety in the bathroom

In the UK, shaver supply units are the only electrical outlets permitted in bathrooms, preventing many dangerous encounters between water and electricity. But there are some other dangers you should be aware of.

• Use enclosed ceiling lights, not hanging ones.
• Use ceiling-mounted pull-cord switches, not regular light switches.
• Make sure electrical showers are supplied on their own circuits directly from your fusebox.
• Don’t use extension leads to run electrical appliances in the bathroom. This includes heaters, hairdryers, curling irons and radios.

Electricity safety throughout the house

• Make sure you have a Residual Current Device (RCD) on your fusebox: An RCD is designed to prevent you from receiving a fatal electric shock if you touch something live such as a bare wire. It provides more protection than ordinary fuses or circuit breakers can.
• Don’t overload outlets: Each outlet in your house is designed to deliver a certain amount of energy. Overloading them can cause explosions and fires. To stay safe, only plug one heat-producing appliance into an outlet at a time. If you’re regularly using power strips and extension cords, it’s a sign you don’t have enough outlets or don’t have them where you need them. Have a qualified electrician install more. You should also check outlets to ensure they remain cool to the touch. A hot outlet should be inspected by an electrician.
• Use power strips safely: You can plug small, light-load gadgets, like lamps, computers and phones, into power strips,but don’t plug anything heat-generating or large, like refrigerators and washing machines, into them.
• Replace or repair damaged electrical leads: Fraying or cracking power or extension leads are a major fire and shock hazard. All leads should be inspected regularly and replaced or repaired if they’re found to be damaged. Keep leads away from small children or pets who may chew on them. You also shouldn’t staple power cords in place or run them under rugs or furniture, where they can be tripping hazards or overheat, possibly causing fires.
• Install smoke alarms: Around half of all accidental house fires in the UK are caused by electricity. Smoke alarms can give you an early warning of fires, leaving you with enough time to escape.
• Obtain an Electrical Safety Certificate: While it’s not a legal requirement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, landlords are encouraged to obtain an electrical safety certificate for any property they’re renting out. An electrical safety certificate is a document issued by a certified electrician to confirm that all electrical circuits and appliances in the property function properly and are safe to use.

Electricity safety when doing DIY

Botched DIY attempts are responsible for nearly half of all severe electric shocks at home. The following tips will keep you safe during your weekend projects.

• Locate wires in walls. Use a cable detector to identify wires before drilling, screwing or nailing anything into your walls, even when completing a simple task like hanging a shelf.
• Turn off the power at your fusebox. If you’re working near electrical wiring, turn off the power at your fusebox and use battery-powered tools.
• Check power tools for frayed leads. Also, keep leads out of the way so you don’t saw through them or trip over them.
• Get help from a registered electrician, especially if you’re dealing with wiring.
• When working outside, don’t use electrical equipment in wet weather.

Check the qualifications of electricians

Before you employ anyone to do electrical work at your home, you should ensure they’re properly qualified. The Competent Person Electrical Register is a list of more than 40,000 electricians in England and Wales who meet the technical standards required by the government. Electricians are assessed before they’re enrolled on the register and then subject to periodic random checks of their work.