Electrical safety around the home
Landlord installations
As your landlord, we will ensure that the electrical wiring in your home, including plug sockets & switches, is properly installed & maintained. We will carry out an electrical safety check in your home every 10 years.
Your appliances
- Check plugs & sockets for burn marks, sounds of buzzing or crackling (‘arcing’), fuses blowing or circuit breakers tripping or overheating
- Remove plugs from sockets carefully to avoid damaging the connection
- Only use plugs with the British Standard CE safety mark
- Check that no coloured wires are showing between the plug & cable before use
- Unplug appliances before doing any repair work, or before filling kettles, steam irons etc. with water
- Never trail flexible cables under a carpet or rug, or across a walkway
- Never dry clothes on an electric heater
- Never cover ventilation slots
- Never store combustible materials close to electrical appliances (including fuse boxes, electricity metres or cut out fuses)
- Don’t drill holes or fix nails in walls or partitions without knowing what is hidden behind them as you could damage electrical cables (as well as gas & water pipes)
- Do not use extension leads plugged into other extension leads or overload them
- Never use appliances when your hands are wet
- Never wrap cables around appliances when they are still warm
- Never bring mains powered portable appliances such as hairdryers, heaters & radiators into the bathroom
- Turn off all appliances before bed, unless they are designed to be left on such as a freezer.
Visit www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk for more electrical safety tips around the home.
