Electrical Safety at Home in Perth: 6 Checks Worth Doing
Electrical safety at home is mostly a handful of simple habits, not a major project. A few minutes of electrical safety at home now and then catches the problems that cause shocks, faults and fires before they happen. Here are six checks worth doing in your Perth home.
1. Test your safety switches
The most important electrical safety at home task is pressing the TEST button on your safety switches (RCDs) about every three months. They should trip instantly. If one does not, it is not protecting you, and that needs an electrician. This two-minute check is the single most valuable one on the list.
2. Check leads, plugs and cords
Walk around and look at the leads you use daily: chargers, appliances, extension cords. Electrical safety at home means replacing anything frayed, cracked or damaged rather than taping it up. A damaged cord is a shock and fire risk, and replacing one is far cheaper than the alternative.
3. Stop overloading power points
Double adapters stacked on double adapters, and power boards plugged into power boards, are a common electrical safety at home failure. Spread the load, and where you always run short of outlets, have proper power points added rather than relying on a tangle of boards behind the couch.
4. Keep water and electricity apart
Bathrooms, kitchens and laundries are where electrical safety at home matters most, because water and electricity together cause shocks. Keep appliances away from sinks and basins, never handle anything electrical with wet hands, and make sure outdoor outlets are weatherproof and RCD-protected.
5. Watch for the warning signs
Electrical safety at home includes noticing the early warnings: flickering lights, a warm or discoloured outlet, a faint burning smell, buzzing, or a switch that trips often. These are your electrics asking for attention. Acting early turns a small fix into a booking, not an emergency callout.
6. Never DIY electrical work
The golden rule of electrical safety at home is that anything beyond changing a globe or plugging in an appliance is a job for a licensed electrician. DIY electrical work is illegal in WA for good reason: it causes shocks and fires. The money saved is never worth the risk it creates.
Childproofing and older homes
If you have young children, socket covers and keeping leads out of reach add to electrical safety at home. Older homes deserve extra attention too, ageing wiring and a fuse board with no safety switches are common in Perth, and both are worth having an electrician assess.
Know who to call
Part of electrical safety at home is knowing what to do when something goes wrong. Save a licensed 24/7 electrician’s number, so if you hit a genuine hazard you are not frantically searching ‘after hours electrician near me’ at midnight. Knowing who to call is its own kind of preparation.
When to call now
Most electrical safety at home issues can wait for a daytime booking, but some cannot. A burning smell, smoke, sparks, a shock or water in the electrics means calling an Emergency Electrician Perth straight away. Knowing which is which is the difference between a small fix and a serious incident.
Why use a licensed electrician
Much of electrical safety at home, safety switches, wiring, switchboards, is licensed work. A licensed electrician can check your home, fix what is found, and upgrade what is ageing. The state’s Building and Energy sets the requirements involved.
Want to get electrical safety at home sorted in Perth?
ACS Electrical checks, repairs and upgrades home electrics, and is an Emergency Electrician Perth around the clock. Explore our prevent electrical emergencies guide, residential electrician service or switchboard upgrades service. Call 0419 967 838.
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