Einstein considered common sense to be all the prejudices you acquire before the age of 18. (This was the belief of someone who apparently had to be reminded by his housekeeper to dress warmly before venturing out into Princeton winters.) Semantics aside, a certain amount of common sense should be applied to your electrical dealings.
Precautions for electrical appliances, devices, and wiring include the following:
- Buy only items that are UL-listed or approved by another accepted testing agency.
- Keep children from playing near portable heaters and kitchen appliances.
- Use kitchen and bathroom appliances on or near dry surfaces only.
- Keep combustible materials such as clothes and curtains away from heaters of any kind.
- Never cut off the grounding pin from a three-pronged plug.
- Never file down the larger prong on a polarized plug.
- Use child-resistant caps in unused receptacles.
- Install smoke detectors.
- Make sure the contact between a plug and a receptacle is solid and tight.
- Allow plenty of free space around computers, televisions, and stereo sound systems to prevent them from overheating.
- Keep metal ladders away from all power lines.
- Stay away from any downed power lines.
- Have your electrical system inspected if it’s more than 40 years old and you have no record of a recent inspection.
- Make sure all switches and receptacles have cover plates.
- At the very least, install plug-in GFCI receptacles into existing bathroom and kitchen receptacles that do not have grounding.
- Make sure light bulbs are the correct rating for their lamp or fixture. (Excessive heat can be a fire hazard.)
- Unplug portable appliances when they’re not in use, especially those near sinks. (You can be electrocuted if they fall into water—even if they’re turned off.)
- Leave electric blankets untucked.
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