It’s Friday afternoon, the cooler is by the door, and somebody is hunting for a missing flip-flop. Before the whole family heads out for a weekend at Beaver Lake, one question always comes up: did anyone unplug the iron?
From unplugging the toaster to helping an aunt up north search for electrician Akron Ohio after her lights start flickering, keeping a house safe is mostly a string of small habits. Here are seven things worth knowing, ordered from a two-minute lap around the house to the projects that need a licensed pro.
1. Take a lap through the house before you leave
Make it a ritual, like checking the tire pressure. Walk through the kitchen, the laundry room and the bedrooms, and look for anything left on that doesn’t need to be: a curling iron, a space heater, a toaster oven, a phone charger tucked under a pillow.
Leave the refrigerator and anything on a timer alone, and unplug the small stuff you won’t miss. It saves a little power and takes one worry off the drive.
With kids in tow, turn it into a game. Give each child a room and call them the lights-off detectives. They’ll start doing it on their own, and you’ll stop being the only one who remembers.
2. Give power strips and cords some room to breathe
Power strips are fine for lamps, chargers and a television. They’re not meant for big heat-makers like space heaters or toasters, which draw a lot of power and should go straight into the wall unless the maker’s instructions say otherwise.
Don’t plug one strip into another, don’t run a cord under a rug and don’t pinch one behind a heavy dresser. Replace any cord that’s frayed, cracked or hot to the touch instead of wrapping it with tape and hoping for the best.
If you keep running out of outlets in the same room, that’s useful information. It usually means the room has outgrown the way it was wired, which is a question for a professional, not a longer extension cord.
3. Test the smoke alarms and practice leaving
Pick a Saturday morning, press the test button on each alarm and let the kids cover their ears and laugh. If an alarm has been on the ceiling longer than you’ve lived in the house, swap it for a new one. Most have a date on the back.
Then practice walking out together and agreeing on a meeting spot, like the mailbox. It takes five minutes and it’s the part of the plan everyone will remember in a hurry.
Do it once after a trip, too, when the kids are tired and cranky. That’s the real test of whether the plan works when nobody is at their best.
4. Learn the warning signs
A house usually complains before it fails. These are the signs that something needs a professional’s eyes:
- Lights that flicker or dim when something else turns on
- Outlets or cover plates that feel warm, look scorched or crackle
- A breaker that trips again and again
- A buzzing sound or a burning smell near an outlet, switch or the breaker panel
- A tingle or small shock from an appliance or switch
If you notice one, stop using that outlet or appliance and call a licensed electrician. If you smell burning or see smoke, get everyone outside and call 911 first.
Resist the urge to keep resetting a breaker that keeps tripping. It’s the house telling you something, and the answer belongs to someone trained to read it.
Neighbor to neighbor: Swap names, not guesses. When one of us finds a licensed electrician we trust, we pass the name along over the fence or in the street group chat. After a storm, knock on the door of anyone who lives alone and ask whether their power is back on.
5. Keep cords and outlets safe outdoors
Summer in the yard means string lights over the patio, a corded trimmer and a fan on the porch. Water and electricity don’t mix, and our humid summers and sudden thunderstorms make that easy to forget.
Use cords made for outdoor use, keep plugs off wet grass and away from sprinklers and puddles, and bring cords inside when a storm rolls in. If an outdoor outlet cover is cracked or the outlet looks rusty, put the extension cord away and have a licensed electrician look at it.
The same goes for the lake or river weekend. Before anyone plugs in a speaker or a string of lights near the water, check that the cord is in good shape and keep every plug well clear of the shoreline and wet ground.
6. Get ready for storm season before the sky turns
You know the sky that goes greenish gray in spring. When it does, unplug the television and the computer, since a surge protector is a good backup but not a promise. Stay away from downed lines and call the utility, not a neighbor with a ladder.
If the power goes out, never run a generator inside the house or garage, and never plug one into a wall outlet. Ask a licensed electrician about a safe way to connect one before you need it, not during the outage.
Keep flashlights where you can find them in the dark, and let each kid have their own. Candles are a poor substitute with little ones running around.
7. Hand the big projects to a licensed electrician
Adding a car charger, new lighting, extra circuits for a workshop or a hot tub, or replacing an old panel are not weekend jobs. They involve wiring that has to be sized, protected and inspected correctly, and a mistake can stay hidden in the wall for years.
Ask the local building department whether the work needs a permit, and ask any electrician to explain what they plan to do in plain words. Get more than one written estimate, ask to see the license, and take your time. A good electrician won’t mind questions.
It also helps to say out loud how you use the house. If you’re adding an electric bike charging station, a chest freezer for the fishing season or a window air conditioner for the back bedroom, tell the electrician up front so the plan fits the way your family lives.
One more thing
Safety at home works best when everyone knows the plan, even the six-year-old who thinks the smoke alarm is a toy. Pass this list to a neighbor with a new baby or a new house, and check on the older folks on your street after every big storm.
Safe travels to the lake, neighbors, and don’t forget the iron.
