Keeping your home free of electrical hazards should be a yearlong effort, but this May—National Electrical Safety Month—is a good time to look at the do’s and don’ts for keeping your household safe and happy.
Electrical safety awareness and education among Bandera Electric Cooperative members, employees, families and communities can prevent electrical fires, injuries and fatalities.
- Do keep electrical devices away from water to prevent electric shock.
- Don’t place flammable items like pot holders, napkins or dish towels near the stove while cooking.
- Do check you’re using the correct wattage in all light fixtures.
- Don’t overload electrical outlets with more devices than the circuit can handle.
- Do use ground-fault and arc-fault circuit interrupters to prevent fires. GFCIs should be used on every outlet near where water is used.
- Don’t use ladders or poles near overhead power lines.
- Do use extension cords safely, by not using them as a long-term solution and making sure they are rated to handle the devices you’ll use them with.
- Don’t let children go near electrical cords or outlets, and be sure to use child safety plugs to cover exposed outlets and deter foreign objects (or fingers) from being inserted.
- Do replace worn-out outlets that heat up, won’t hold a plug securely or make zapping noises.