Fires Caused By Electric Appliances

The last thing that anyone who owns a home wants to go through is a house fire, but the fact is that these happen much more often that some people may think and it is generally due to carelessness around the house with heat and electricity. There are a number of appliances in your home that are hazardous and require special attention, but many people tend to disregard some of the warnings and care suggestions that come with these items and they neglect to read the instruction manuals.

One of the most dangerous, yet convenient items that you can have in your home is a space heater. They are wonderful if you cannot afford to have gas heat or the extra expense on the electric bill to heat the house during the winter, but when used incorrectly or in an inappropriate area of the home, they can cause fires extremely quickly. You should always use caution when using space heaters in your home and if possible, do not use them in homes with small children due to the risk of burns.

Space heaters should not be used on carpeted surfaces or on rugs unless the heated part is located at least 6 inches off the floor. This is common with heaters that also have a fan function. The further away the heat is from the floor, the safer the heater will be on a carpeted surface, should you have to use it there.

Space heaters should also not be used at night unless the cold is just unbearable. Use these only when there are people around to watch them closely and turn them off when you leave the house. Many fires occur both at night and when people are out of the house, so turning these off and unplugging them while you are gone is a good idea.

Fires are also caused by electric blankets more often than people might realize. Too many have woken up in the middle of the night with their beds on fire because they left the blanket on while they were asleep and leaving them on like this is a bad idea for that exact reason. You should also never walk on an electric blanket, since the heating cords inside them can be damaged fairly easily. Try to store these in areas where they have no chance of getting wet, as well, such as the top of the closet.

House Fires and Common Appliances

Some of the most common items that we use during the winter are the things that we tend to feel comfortable using, so we let our guard down and often become victims because of it. Since we feel comfortable using these items and they are familiar to us, we do not usually think that anything can go wrong because we have been using them for so long, but nothing could be further from the truth. Anything electrical, especially if it puts out heat, can cause a house to catch on fire and burn to the ground before you can even blink.

One thing that is commonly used in areas that have cold winters are electric blankets. These cause more fires than some people imagine and there have been many cases where someone has woken up with their bed on fire because they left it on while they were sleeping. You should only use electric blankets to warm up the bed before you get in it and never leave them on their highest setting for long, if you turn it up that high at all. Do not leave these unattended for more than a few minutes and always turn them off if you are leaving the house.

The same can be said for space heaters. These are very convenient to have if you are on a budget and only need to heat a small area of your home during the winter. Like electric blankets, you should not leave these on while you are asleep or not at home, since most house fires happen during these times. They should not be used in the rooms of small children or on carpeted surfaces, if possible. Certain varieties are safer than others and you may want to consider getting one that has a fan function and is raised off the floor by a few inches. These are safer, since they do not heat the carpet around them nearly as much as space heaters with short legs and only heating coils.

Another thing you should be concerned with is grease in the kitchen. Heating grease and leaving it unattended is one of the worst things that you can do. At least one person I personally know of started this process, went to sit down, fell asleep, and burned her entire house to the ground. She was lucky she made it out alive.

You should never neglect these and other electric items in your home, especially if they put out large amounts of heat. It could be one of the worst mistakes you ever make.