Statistics show that every year, more than thirty thousand households face an incident of electric shock in their units. Electric shock incidents are easy to occur if you are careless but at the same time they are also pretty easy to prevent. If you are well-informed about the potential pitfalls which could lead to an electric shock, you would be able to prevent them with your eyes closed.

That way, you would know what to avoid and what to go through with safely. All this needs is some education on safety and electrical circuits, and you would save yourself from being a part of that thirty thousand people every year. In our post today we are going to kick start your learning by sharing with you a few important tips on this matter so that you can prevent yourself from getting an electrical shock in your house or workplace.

Cover up your electrical sockets and ports if your household has small kids or pets

You have tools like wall plates and electrical port covers not just for decorative purposes, but also for a safety reason. They don’t just make your electrical ports look a lot better, but they also keep itchy fingers away from meddling with dangerous power ports. They prevent children and pets from letting in their small fingers or paw into the electrical ports, risking themselves an electrical shock. As an adult, you too should never stick in your fingers or other metal or non-metal foreign objects into the electrical ports for any reason. The electric shock you get might cause you to have severe internal injuries or even cause death.

Learn about the way your household’s electric circuit works

Learn about the fuse systems in your house, how the circuit breakers work and how the wires run in your house. This is a simple way for you to prevent any mishaps from happening in your household, or from saving yourself from any mishap which has already occurred.

By learning about your electrical system, you can be better aware of where you can plug in which appliances and where you cannot plug in certain electrical products. Moreover, you can also match your light bulb units to their right lamps according to how many watts they should be working in. This way you can prevent short circuits from happening in your household and also ensure that you conserve as much energy as possible through efficient energy saving.

You can do the latter by looking at the light bulb socket as usually there would be a small label noting down what is the maximum watts the lamps work at. It is often a good choice to make sure you use light bulbs which have the same wattage or a less watt capacity to work your light bulbs so that your lamp wires don’t get overpowered.

Another thing to take note of is whether your house has copper wiring or aluminum wiring. These two types of wiring handle heat from the electricity differently, that is why we need to know the difference. These things might get too technical if you do not have a good physics background, so feel free to call us at New West Electric Ltd if you are looking for help with electrical knowledge or electrical services in Calgary.

Make sure to change your old electrical appliances which are damaged or old

Old electrical equipment is identified from your daily experience with them. If any of your electrical products give out small sparks or small shocks when you use them, then they are no good news. They are also dangerous if they short circuit often or if they have torn wires exposing themselves from the main unit which need to be fixed and fitted back in. Whenever you see wires sticking out of any appliance or from the wall, make sure you do not play with them and meddle with them. Do not try to inspect and work it out yourself. Have an electrician to head over to your unit to inspect it first and repair it before you use the particular socket or appliance again.

Keep your electrical cords safely

Make sure that you keep your electrical cords in a safe manner. Try not to fold them, bend them or roll them around into knots. They might tear and expose the dangerous internal wires to each other which might cause a big short circuit or might risk you having an electric shock. It is also dangerous if small kids or pets come across these torn bits of wire. Many stores and hardware outlets sell plenty of types of electrical cord organizers for you to purchase and use, so consider getting one of those to help you out! They are affordable and are long lasting. You can also look up online to make your own cord organizer if you would want to save money on getting one.