Appliance Safety Tips

The appliances inside of your house often make life much less stressful, but when you use household appliances incorrectly, they might create noticeable health risks. You will want to maintain appliances and ensure that they do not become dangers by adhering to these helpful home appliance safety tips from Instant Livonia Appliance Repair.

The tips below will help prevent fires and injuries from broken appliances. That being said, hazards can still happen. If an appliance breaks or starts to malfunction and becomes dangerous, call a local appliance repair Livonia.

Install GFCI Outlets in Damp Locations in Your Home

Kitchens, laundry rooms, basements, bathrooms, garages and outdoor areas can be susceptible to dampness or water. As you well know, electricity and water do not go together, so power cords should be plugged into ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs).

This can prevent electrocution by tripping the circuit when any imbalances in electricity occur.

If you do not currently have GFCI outlets in wet rooms around your home, it’s time to install them or call an electrician in Livonia. Then, for even more safety measures, be sure to heed the warnings of certain appliance manuals that indicate an appliance is not designed for outdoor areas.

Electrical Cords, Outlets & Electronics Away From Water

Quite a few home appliances are specifically designed for outdoor use, like gas and charcoal grills. If you make us of any electrical appliances outside – including refrigerators, dishwashers, ice makers and freezers, power tools and others – monitor that all of the plugs and outlets are not wet. Using weatherproof electronics can help with this, combined with GFCI outlets with gaskets that are water-tight.

Extension Cords are Only a Temporary Option

An extension cord poses a lot of evident risks, including:

The potential for a loose connection that could cause sparks and cause a fire.
The chance of power inconsistencies that could damage the appliance.
Increased susceptibility to moisture penetration that can cause electrocution.
The potential for cords overheating and turning into a fire hazard when an low-quality extension cord is combined with a high-power appliance.

When determining an extension cord for temporary use, ensure that it’s the correct gauge for the electrical tool in question. The lower the gauge, the larger the wire size. For example, a simple household extension cord for a garden tool could have a 16-gauge wire while a bigger cord for a air conditioner needs a 12-gauge wire.

Length is also a factor. The longer the cord, the more electricity is used up on the way, something called voltage drop. Shorter extension cords are recommended for power tools and equipment.

Read the Manual for Any Type of Appliance You Purchase

It’s easy to guess that you know how to operate your new washing machine or dishwasher without consulting the operating manual, but reading the instructions is important for many reasons:

You should find out whether your house’s electrical wiring is good enough to support the new appliance. You might have to install a new circuit to prevent overloading any existing ones.

You learn more about features you would not have otherwise have known about.
You learn whether the new appliance is intended for outdoor areas or not.

You don’t have the extreme frustration that can come from attempting to run a appliance with no instructions!

Unplug Small Appliances in Your Home When Not in Use

You can reduce unnecessary energy consumption by unplugging small appliances when you are not using them. The reason is small appliances include LED indicators, clocks and other energy-consuming features standby mode.

Unplug televisions, monitors, routers, video game systems, phone chargers and more to reduce unnecessary energy usage. Just remember, it is OK to keep DVRs and similar electronics plugged in to prevent missing out on their automatic background features.

For more tips on how to use appliances safely, or to call a professional appliance repair service, please contact Instant Livonia Appliance Repair. Our repairmen can fix all popular home appliances!

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