The kitchen is the place in your home where you use a myriad of different appliances. That’s why it is important you are aware of all the ways you can practice electrical safety. Kitchens are also busy areas of the home that can be a prime location for accidents and electrical hazards. With a variety of small and large appliances in use alongside potential water and food waste, electrical safety in the kitchen is highly important.
To help you out, Franco’s Electric has come up with an important list of kitchen electrical safety tips:
Keep your kitchen dry and Clean
Cooking food and cleaning dishes can result in excess crumbs, food waste, and moisture on countertops or near outlets. These materials should be always kept away from outlets. If water or food waste enters an outlet, it can cause electrical shock, damage to appliances, and broken outlets
One Appliance Per Outlet
As a rule of thumb, only one appliance should be plugged into each outlet.
Ideally, you should plug one appliance in an outlet. This might seem burdensome but plugging in more than one appliance can overload your outlet or circuit breaker. If you don’t have enough outlets, have them installed by a trusted electrician.
Use GFCI Outlets
If you don’t have any in your kitchen, contact an electrician you trust immediately and have it installed. A GFCI outlet can literally save your life so be sure you plug in your appliances in GFCI outlets.
Unplug appliances, not in use
If you have your appliance plugged into a non-GFCI outlet and it is exposed to water or falls in the sink, you might be risking electrocution.
When you are in your kitchen, arguably the best room in the house, you want to keep in mind that the way to keep things safe is to keep things clean and to keep things simple. Try to clean even those hard-to-reach places occasionally and make sure that the number of appliances per outlet is used sparingly and thoughtfully. That way your kitchen will remain the place to be for days to come.
