It does not matter whether you are going to be away for a day or a month provided that your home is secure. One area of great concern is electrical safety and if not taken care of, any fault can lead to a disaster and loss of property while you are away. Therefore, you can easily avoid filing for a costly insurance claim when you get back home by preparing a simple checklist to ensure electrical safety at your home prior to leaving for your vacation.
1) Switch off all the lights in your home
Apart from increasing your utility bills on electricity, leaving the lights on while on vacation is dangerous for your home. Instead, you can invest in the motion sensor system for your outdoor lights or install the latest electronic programmable switch with a timer. These devices are designed with an “on” and “off” options at specific times to control the lights and make it appear like someone is at home.
2) Install a powerful power surge protector
A good power surge protector can protect your home as well as electrical appliances from damage. At the same time, this device can protect your home against electrical fire as a result of the power surge. Once installed, you will definitely have peace of mind while enjoying your holiday away from your home.
3) Make sure electrical items are unplugged
It is wise that you unplug certain electrical appliances before leaving your home for a holiday. Electronics items such as laptops, phone chargers, television sets, personal computers, routers, and modems should be disconnected from the main power. In the kitchen, you can also unplug small appliances like toasters, microwaves and coffee machines when leaving for your vacation.
4) Fire safety inspection
Over a certain period of time, some electrical appliances become outdated. In fact, quite a number of them were manufactured at the time when sufficient safety regulations were not in place.
Therefore, you need to check the conditions of hazardous electrical appliances in your home before they can cause problems when you are away on holiday. If possible you can have them replaced with the latest appliances to protect your home against fires or destruction of your property.
5) Get in touch with your licensed electrician
Before leaving your home, you may get in touch with your licensed electrician to help you check your home for any potential threat from electricity when on holiday. Or, you can get the electrician to help you in installing safety switches if your home doesn’t have one.
Even though electricity comes in handy to keep you comfortable in your home, a lot of care is needed especially when leaving for vacation. That is why you need to check that every item that uses electricity is in good working condition or disconnected from the power source.
Doing so will greatly reduce chances of electrical fires which can damage your home or your household items. Therefore, have your checklist ready and go through it before leaving your home for your holiday. Our electricians from Gordon’s Powers can help you safeguard your home while you are away.
Contact the professional electricians on (02) 9199 7480 to help you prepare for your long vacation!