Official figures have revealed that a staggering 20,000 fires a year are caused by faulty electrics. Electrical faults in the home also kill around 70 people per year and injure around 350,000; unbelievably, 2.5 million people have admitted they have received an electric shock in the home.
Such high numbers of accidents with electronics are not surprising when you consider the UK’s reliance on electronic equipment. Electricity features in our everyday lives, from the moment we get out of bed on the morning and hit our alarms to the minute we fall asleep with the television on at night. This familiarity around electricity can breed carelessness; carelessness’s which can often cost lives.
There are a number of danger sings you need to look out for on all of the electrical items around your home, no matter how safe or new they may appear.
- If there are any hot plugs or sockets, fuses that blow often and lights which flicker. Deal with this rapidly; this could be a wiring issue which could be easily resolved.
- Incorrectly wired plugs- If you can see any of the internal coloured wires sticking out, they can come loose over time and cause problems.
- Damaged or ‘repaired’ power leads. Leads which become frayed over time should not be repaired with tape!
- The obvious one- Overloaded sockets. Overloaded sockets can easily start fires, if too many electrical appliances draw power from one socket overheating will occur.
- Cables in vulnerable positions: Don’t leave power leads where they can either be tripped up on, near water, or close to a heat source such as a fire or oven. Cables underneath well walked on carpets also pose a risk. They can become worn down without anybody realising.
There are also a number of things you should NEVER do around the home.
- Never yank a plug out by its cord
- Never use electrical equipment near water
- Never put anything metal into a toaster or microwave
- Never drill into a wall without knowing what is behind it. Drilling into an electrical cable is incredibly dangerous
- Never attempt to fix an electrical appliance whilst it is plugged in
- Never use damaged or worn electric cables, even if the wires aren’t visible
It isn’t just in the house where you can run into problems using electricity. Although the use of electricity makes gardening infinitely easier, it also increases the risk of an accident through carelessness. Before using electrical equipment in the garden you should always:
- Check the equipment, including all plugs and leads is undamaged
- Purchase only safe electrical equipment from trusted manufacturers
- Store your electrical equipment in a dry place between uses
- Follow your equipment’s instructions
- Wear the appropriate protective clothing and equipment
- Be careful where you are digging, it is highly likely there are electric cables under your garden
Although we cant visit every house in the UK with testing equipment sticking the relevant PAT labels to every appliance (Although we would like too!) In the workplace environment you can always rest assured the safety of an electrical appliance if it has an up to date Passed PAT Label attached, alternatively you also know an appliance is unsafe if it has a Failed Pat Label attached.
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