Be Careful with Electricity
IT PAYS to be careful when working with electricity. Though you might be using low-voltage electricity, it is not harmless. Low voltage is involved in more than 90 percent of the electrical accidents, and in nearly half of the electrical accidents resulting in death. So, consider carefully these notes on safety with electricity:
✔ Watch your step in the bathroom. This is no place for radios, portable heaters, hair dryers or plug-in floor lamps. Above all, guard against touching or turning on or off electrical appliances or switches when in the bathtub or shower. It is toying with death.
✔ When your hands or feet are wet, never touch anything electrical—especially when you are in a basement; you are likely “grounded.”
✔ Be careful when putting in light bulbs. You can be electrocuted if your finger slips into the socket.
✔ To protect children, use safety caps on electric outlets. The little holes in electric outlets may entice young children to poke needles, nails, scissors or other objects into them. They expose themselves to great danger, but it can be prevented.
✔ When removing the connecting cord of an electric appliance, always disconnect it by pulling on the plug, not by tugging on the cord.
✔ When hammering a nail into the wall, use extra caution if you do not know just where the electric wires are located. Usually they run vertically and horizontally from sockets and switches.
✔ Before you leave your home for an extended vacation, pull plugs out of the sockets or turn off your main service switch as a precaution against fire.
✔ From time to time inspect electric cords to see that the insulation is still flexible and is not cracking. Inspect them especially at the plugs and at the point where they enter the appliance. Frayed cords are a fire hazard.
✔ Do not run any electric wire under a rug. If the insulation wears off, a short circuit may result, possibly causing a fire.
✔ Use fuses that are the proper size for the circuit involved. Using bigger fuses than what a circuit calls for can cause a household fire. A better solution is to move one appliance to an outlet on a different circuit.
✔ Because of the built-up high voltage, never fiddle with the inside of a television set if it is connected.
✔ When using heavy-duty appliances such as electric irons, toasters and ovens, be sure to have heavy-duty cord if an extension is needed. This should be a cord with a large enough wire, not just extra insulation.
✔ If toast sticks in a toaster, do not poke in a knife or other utensil to extricate it unless the electric cord has been pulled out.
✔ Most modern electrical appliances are equipped with “grounding” plugs to ground the frame or case of the equipment safely. Be sure that the appliance is grounded before you use it. This is the law in some lands, and it is for your safety.
✔ Wash electric blankets gently by hand. It is usually best not to send them to the cleaners. Dry-cleaning fluids contain solvents that may ruin the insulation. The tumble action of the washer and dryer can also cause breaks in wiring and insulation. Careful hand washing is safer.
✔ If you are an eyewitness of an electrical accident, do not touch the victim while the current is still on. Otherwise you too may become helpless. First, cut off the current as quickly as possible. Pull the plug, turn off the switch or screw out the fuse. In an emergency, through the intermediary of several dry newspapers, a dry board, a rubber mat or some other insulating material, seize the clothing of the victim and pull him away from the energized conductor. A dry rope or bed sheet may prove helpful too. If the person’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped, apply artificial respiration at once.
Keep your wits about you when working with electricity. If a serious injury or death occurs, “I didn’t think” is not a very comforting excuse. Be careful with electricity.