Using Electrical Appliances Safely

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29778, 22 March 1962, Page 2

Using Electrical Appliances Safely

The fflek of a switch brings power and light to the service of the modern home-maker. We cook, wash, iron, clean, sew and even garden with the aid of electricity. It all happens with sack speed and efficiency that we drop our guard. It is then that accidents can happen. '■Electricity makes a good servant, but a poor master." is the motto of the Home Science Extension on this subject. Every week-end men and women take their lives in their hands as hbey operate faulty power devices out of d-oors. The vacuum cleaner is taken out to do the car, electric clippers trim hedges, and electric drills and power tools are used outside on home projects. The fault may not be apparent when the appliance is used in the normal way. But the danger from a faulty appliance is aceentifated when the user stands in direct contact with the earth, or on damp concrete. Then if anything goes wrong, the current takes the quickest route to the ground—through the operator.

Any electrical equipment used outside the room where it is plugged in is required bv the regulations to be used with a protective decice. This protection can be built in to the machine in the form of double insulation. This means that the easing and the motor are insulated from one another and so rendered safe Equipment not marked in ♦his way may be used out-of-doors with safety in conjunction with an isolating transformer. This device, which costs from £6 to £l2 is earth-free, and if a breakdown occurs, no current can flow to the earth.

Washing machines mean water, and water is a conductor of electricity. Because they are always used in damp conditions there is a greater risk of shock if a machine develops a fault. Regulations do not permit a power point in the bathroom, because of the risks involved. If a washing machine is to be used there, it must be con-

nected. not by plugging in to a power point, but with fixed wiring to the switch board. Last year 300 accidents with electric blankets were reported. Most of these were traced to misuse: they were folded instead of rolled for storage, pinned to the mattress instead of being tied to the bed. used along with hot water bottles, left on all night. Electric blankets, like electric appliances, are perfectly safe when they are used correctly. They should be checked each year, and with care, they will give 10 to 15 years of warmth and comfort.

Current passing along heating wires can cause them to become brittle, and in time they will break. Never hang electric cords over a nail or hook, for this accelerates the damage. Use an insulated hook, or place a cotton reel on the nail.

Cords which develop kinks should be replaced. See that the wires at the plug ends are well sheathed in the protective insulating cover, and no bare wires are exposed. Look at the plugs themselves. If they are chipped, the hands could come into contact with bare wires when plugging in. Replace damaged plugs with sound ones Always grasp the plug to disconnect an appliance, never pull the cord." Where power points are within the reach of small children’s exploring fingers, invest in shuttered plugs to make them safe.

New regulations permit householders to fix fuses and plugs. Study the booklet issued by the electrical authorities to learn the right way to do these repairs. Electricity is woman's best friend; it may be used with confidence, the safe way.— Home Science Extension, Department of Adult Education, University of Otago.