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How to Keep Your Home’s Electrics Safe

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It’s important to know what steps should be taken to ensure you keep you and everyone in your household safe from electrical hazards. 

Whether that be the risk of electrocution or an electrical fire breaking out (either of which can prove fatal), it’s essential that you take appropriate steps to keep your home safe. In this blog we’ll explore the most important ways of keeping your home’s electrics safe over time.

Electrical Safety Checks

Note: Electrical safety checks must be performed by a qualified electrician. Electrical work is not DIY-friendly.

Firstly, while it may not always be a legal requirement, it is best to have general electrical safety checks performed by a qualified electrician once every 5-10 years or sooner if deemed appropriate.

Firstly, an Electrical Installation Condition Report or EICR involves a professional performing a detailed analysis of your home’s electrical wiring and electrical systems. The end result is that you’ll have a report clearly detailing how safe or unsafe your home’s electrics are.

Even when it is not legally required, you should still get an EICR every 5-10 years for reassurances. Likewise, it is a good idea (if not legally required, depending on the facts and part of the UK in question) to get an EICR before moving into a new property or/and for your current home when selling it.

You should also consider hiring an electrician for PAT testing, which involves checking your property’s portable electrical appliances. These tests will attempt to identify any electrical faults and ensure safe operation. How often PAT testing is needed can vary substantially.

Of course, if you are a landlord or run a home in multiple occupancy, legal requirements are generally more applicable and it’s essential that you are aware of all your legal expectations. 

That said, whether you are a landlord, a regular homeowner or someone running a home in multiple occupancy, you should still double check what is legally necessary by contacting your local council.

Beyond that, where testing is not legally required, it’s still best to check with a qualified electrician how often different types of electrical testing should take place. 

Promptly Hiring a Professional When an Issue Arises

Of course, regardless, whenever issues with your electrics do arise and it is not suitable to solve DIY (really the only DIY-friendly task that might be okay to address DIY is resetting a tripped switch – working directly with any electrics is not safe for a DIYer), you’ll want to hire an electrician promptly.

By having issues dealt with as quickly as possible, it can reduce hazards and potentially prevent a serious incident involving faulty or otherwise unsafe electrics. Obviously if an electrical fire breaks out, this is an emergency. In those cases, you and everyone in your home should evacuate your property immediately before calling the fire services.

For cases where it may be possible to tackle an electrical fire when it is small, you should consult with your local authority or a range of qualified electricians or other suitable professionals for clear advice; always follow official advice for ultimate guidance and never take any unnecessary risks when it comes to emergencies that could endanger you or others.

Rewiring Your Home’s Electrics

If your home was constructed before 1990 or/and your electrics have not been rewired in some 20-30 years, it is best to hire a qualified electrician to rewire your house. It may also be well-suited if your electrics may be more worn down than expected, even if only say 15-17 years after being previously installed or rewired.

Rewiring a house costs about £2,800 to £7,500 depending on the type and size of property. Having your home rewired when suitable or needed can reduce the risk of electrical faults and other issues and, in turn, electrical hazards.

Replace Electrical Appliances and Fittings Periodically

You should also have any electrical appliances or/and fittings replaced as soon as is recommended by the manufacturer or as often as professional such as an electrician suggests (e.g. you may need to replace your microwave every 5-10 years).

Of course, certain fittings or appliances may need replacing sooner than expected if they have worn down relatively fast or other issues have emerged (e.g. a sudden fault or damage). This can help reduce the risk of electrical dangers.

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