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Electrical Safety Tips To Protect Your Home: Insights From An Emergency Electrician | Southlake, TX
You’ll notice the weather getting colder as seasons change. Thus, as the temperatures drop, you’ll rely more on your electric appliances and connected systems to keep comfortable in your home. So you want to ensure that your electrical system and devices are in sound condition to avoid safety hazards.
This blog post guides you on the electrical safety measures to undertake in winter and how an emergency electrician in Southlake, TX can keep your property safe in the season. Below are some of the things you need to do.
Inspect Your Cords and Outlets
Damaged or worn-out extension cords aren’t safe for use as they can cause electrical accidents. With holidays around, most homeowners probably want to take out their electric decorations and lights to create magical moments.
As such, winter is the ideal time to inspect your power cords for any faults, and again, you need to make sure that any cord you’ll be using outside is weatherproof.
Be on the lookout for loose connections on outlets. Remember, if your plugs aren’t secured, they could be a recipe for disaster, as they can overheat and cause fires. If you need to plug in many holiday lights, you should ensure you have surge protectors installed in your home for internal load protection.
If you see any discoloration or burnt marks around your outlets, that is a sign of a short circuit. Don’t ignore the issue. Instead, contact a qualified emergency electrician to get the problem diagnosed immediately.
Check Your Cold Weather Tools
During winter, you should inspect your cold weather equipment, such as snow and leaf blowers, to ensure they’re safe and properly working.
Check out for any signs of failure, and if there are any, have a certified emergency electrician repair or replace them immediately before you can use them.
Be Careful When Using Your Space Heater or Electric Blanket
A space heater is undeniably one of those electrical devices in your home that you should be more careful dealing with during winter.
Even though space heaters are a convenient way to heat your indoors, this equipment can start fires in the home if not handled safely. Thus, don’t put your space heater near flammables.
Like space heaters, an electric blanket is an excellent way to keep warm in the cold season as long as it’s used safely. Of course, before using your electric blanket, you must establish that it’s safe.
You can examine the cords for any signs of damage or deterioration and have them replaced immediately by an emergency electrician. Another thing you should avoid is placing items on top of your electric blanket while using it.
In addition, don’t plug your space heaters into an extension cord. This is because the current-capacity rating on cables may not match the power needed by such heavy-duty appliances, which might pose a higher risk of electrical fires.
Take Caution Using Electrical Devices Outside
Ensure you protect your electrical devices from precipitation when winter sets in. Suppose you’re worried that your outdoor equipment and electronics have been exposed to water.
In that case, you should contact an emergency electrician near Southlake, TX to come and inspect them as soon as possible.
Also, like extension cords, any external device should be weather-rated. Remember that water should never mix with electricity. Therefore, safety should be your priority if you’ve outdoor electrical devices.
One practical way to eliminate the chances of potential electric shocks is installing a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). Your hired emergency electrician in Southlake, TX can install unique outdoor GFCI outlets.
Clear Away Debris
Dry leaves can be a safety risk in the event they hit some sort of spark. Thus, when leaves start falling off your trees, it will be prudent to sweep them away from your outdoor outlets, light fixtures, and cords.
Test Your Smoke Alarms
As mentioned earlier, since you’ll be depending more on your electrical devices and appliances in the winter, it’s paramount to have your smoke alarms in working condition, especially now that you’re going to spend more time indoors.
This will ensure that in case of a potential electrical fire, you and your loved ones are warned early enough before the situation becomes uncontrollable.
Consider having an emergency electrician near you test your smoke and fire alarm system in the winter. The American Red Cross recommends testing your smoke alarms monthly. If they aren’t working, change the batteries.
Upgrade Your Electrical System
Because winter tends to be quite busy, you may want an emergency electrician for an electrical panel upgrade in your home. Most old houses use fuses rather than circuit breakers. The downside of fuses is that they can easily cause an electrical fire if the replacement is the wrong amperage.
In most cases, older houses will have fewer outlets to accommodate the many modern appliances, the real reason why there’s massive usage of extension cords in today’s homes.
Also if you’re using many power cords in your house, upgrading your circuit can help solve the problem by allowing more safe and easy outlets.
Additionally, you may also update your electrical unit to fix frequent tripping of your circuit breakers. The electrical upgrades won’t just benefit you in winter alone but also in spring.
Buffalo Electric: Reliable Emergency Electrical Providers in The Dallas – Fort Worth Area
While some of the above winter electrical safety measures may be straightforward, in other instances, you’ll need the services of an emergency electrician.
At Buffalo Electric, we have insured, certified, and licensed technicians. We offer broad-spectrum 24-hour emergency electrical repairs, including fixing broken generators, faulty or improper wiring, overheated equipment, isolated power outages, and more.
Our general scope of electrical work covers outdoor lighting and surge protection. To request a service quote or speak to one of us, call Buffalo Electric or schedule online.
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