Caution Signs and Safety Concerns

At different times in our childhood, well-meaning parents, teachers, and other uninvited authority figures decided we needed a lesson on what they viewed as one of life’s serious dangers. These lessons usually consisted of terse descriptions of the horrors and grave consequences that would befall us if we ignored the lessons, which most of us did. I can confidently say that I didn’t go blind from sitting too close to the television, nor did I ever catch pneumonia from going outside with my coat unbuttoned in the dead of Ohio’s winters.

Electricity is a different matter, however, and here I must become parental for your own good. (I’m sure that phrase brings back a few memories.) One wrong electrical move can result in injury or even death for you or your loved ones, not to mention fire damage to your home. No one is immune to accidents, including experienced electricians. As a homeowner and do-it-yourselfer, you should keep yourself safe and be even more cautious than a professional.

A brand-new electrical system doesn’t give you license to abuse it or to test its limits just for the fun of it. Sticking your house key into a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) receptacle while grabbing hold of your bathroom sink’s faucet isn’t recommended, even if the GFCI should shut down when it detects your act of lunacy. There’s always a chance it won’t shut down because it’s defective. Of course, if you’ve been following safe electrical practices, you would know this because you would test your GFCIs every month.
With a little common sense (another childhood admonition), you’ll be able to safely inhabit and work on your electrical system and fill your home with lighting, receptacles, and multimedia features from top to bottom.