Before their children ever come home from the hospital, most parents are already trying to take every precaution to shield them from harm. They go through their homes, searching high and low for potential problems. One area that definitely needs a lot of attention is electrical safety. What can you and your family do to promote a safer environment in your home when it comes to this issue?
Here are a few of our top tips to help keep kids safer at home:
Cover Electrical Outlets
Kids are naturally a bit too curious for their own good. When they see those holes in the wall that mark your electrical outlets, they can be tempted to put things inside. They might insert toys, silverware, fingers, and anything else that looks like it belongs. The best thing you can do is avoid the issue altogether by installing plastic outlet covers that are difficult for little fingers to remove.
Rearrange Furniture to Hide Outlets
Sometimes you simply can’t cover up all of your electrical outlets. After all, you still have to plug in your lamps, televisions, and other appliances. Kids are prone to want to try to unplug these items and expose the outlets. To help prevent them from doing this, try to rearrange your furniture so that it covers your outlets. It makes it harder for small hands to get to your cords.
Don’t Overload Outlets
You might be tempted to plug all of your appliances into that one convenient outlet in the living room, but you should think again. Overloading your outlets can cause damage to your electrical system. With too much power flowing through it, it can even spark a fire. Always spread out the load, even if it means that you can’t necessarily cover up every outlet.
Keep Appliances Away
Whenever possible, it is best to keep your small appliances out of reach of your children. This might mean storing your gaming systems on a higher shelf. It could mean taking items like hair dryers and kitchen appliances and storing them in the upper cabinets of your home. Whenever you cannot simply keep your appliances away from kids, it is best to make sure that they are at least unplugged.
Look for Danger
One of the main things you can do to keep your kids safe is relatively simple: keep an eye on your cords and sockets to make sure they are in excellent shape. Never leave frayed or damaged cords lying around the house. If your electrical outlets are making an unfamiliar sound, have them checked out by an electrician. You can never be too careful when it comes to the safety of your family.
Call the Professionals
If you sense that something might not be right with your electrical system, call the professionals to evaluate. Powertec Electric is the reliable electrician in the Winnipeg area that you have been looking for. Call us today to discuss any issues that you may have so that we can help you keep your family safer starting today!