10 Kitchen Electrical Safety Tips

The kitchen is one of the most useful – but potentially, the most dangerous – rooms in our home. This means it’s important to be well aware of electrical safety in the kitchen. Every year, electrical malfunctions are responsible for death and injury, and they are a leading cause of fires in homes. It’s important to be aware of any safety issues in your kitchen, especially with so many appliances and gadgets running on a consistent basis.

Here are 10 kitchen guide and electrical safety tips to keep you and your family safe.

1. It should go without saying: be sure you’ve turned off appliances like the oven, coffee maker, and stove-top burners after using them.

2. Periodically check the condition of the plugs and sockets in your kitchen. Look for any burnt or frayed wires on appliances.

3. Do not use the top of your microwave as a place to set liquids. Liquids could spill, causing a short circuit.

4. Make sure there is room behind your fridge and freezer for air to circulate.

5. Ideally, only one appliance should be plugged into each outlet, to avoid overloading the outlet, wiring, and circuit breaker. If you don’t have a sufficient amount of outlets in your kitchen, we can install some more for you.

6. Do not attempt to put out an electrical fire with water. Unplug the appliance if possible and smother the flames with a blanket or heavy fabric. Or, use a fire extinguisher rated for electrical fires.

7. Unplug any countertop appliances when they are not in use, and move them away from the sink. If a non-GFCI appliance is accidentally knocked into the sink, there is a great risk for electrical shock.

8. Test all of your GFCI outlets on a monthly basis. Plugging small appliances into working GFCI outlets greatly reduces your risk of electric shock.

9. Do not use power strips or extension cords to plug in appliances on a permanent basis. Appliances should be plugged directly into grounded outlets.

10. While sufficient lighting is important in your kitchen, do not put oversized bulbs into your kitchen’s light fixtures. The light socket and wiring could overheat and burn.

Kitchen Guide Conclusion

Some of these kitchen electrical safety precautions are easy for you to implement, fix, or keep in mind moving forward.

When it comes to installing new outlets, changing wires, or performing other electrical repairs, always requires a professional. This is to ensure the job is correct.

Wire Craft Electric can help you make the proper updates to improve the electrical safety of your kitchen. Whether you live in Kirkland, Mercer Island, or Seattle, we have you covered! Call us today!