Three most common electrical dangers in your home
Keeping your home safe through maintaining, repairing and upgrading your electrical system and wiring are all things you should be taking a proactive approach to, as your family’s safety is priority one. Especially if you have younger children in the house.
In the winter, when it’s minus thirty day in and day out here in Winnipeg, we tend to spend more time inside than outside.
Due to simply time spent inside, there is a greater risk of danger if your home’s electrical wiring is at risk.
This article will discuss the three most common electrical dangers you need to be aware of. If you encounter any of these, you should contact a licensed Winnipeg electrician to give you a quote to fix the issues immediately.
Overloaded Circuits
With the shorter days and darker evenings, a lot of people will plug in additional lighting around their home if there are naturally-occurring darker areas. And with the holidays, a lot of Winnipeg homeowners are putting up Christmas lights and displays, which draw a lot of power.
All of these additional power usages could lead to overloaded circuits.
If you have an older home, with an older breaker panel and system, you may be at more risk if your setup cannot handle the extra stress.
If you are one of those people who go out every year and buy a different display but don’t account for electrical capacity, you may want to talk to a Winnipeg electrical contractor about upgrading your breaker panel and installing additional outlets for better accessibility.
Frayed Wires
Frayed wires are an excellent source for starting unwanted fires in your home. And, unfortunately, they are probably one of the more commonplace wiring hazards.
Frayed wires can generate sparks which then may result in dangerous electrical fires.
One good way to prevent electrical fires from frayed wires is to have an annual safety inspection from a professional and trustworthy Winnipeg electrician.
Other things you can do as a homeowner is check the wires and plugs on your appliances.
Exposed Wiring
Winnipeg winters, as we all know, can get pretty cold and last for a long time. Basically, all of us use extension cords to plug in our vehicles. Whether it’s freezing rain, sleet, snow, ice, etc., you should make sure that there are no exposed wiring in your extension cords. Usually, but not always, the exposure will occur where the plug is.
Make sure to insulate outdoor outlets properly, as well.