If you own a towel warmer and want to be sure that you are using it as safely as possible so then there’s no risk for any potential dangerous situations happening, you are going to want to pay close attention to all of the inside information we have for you below.
Believe it or not, there are a lot of things that can go wrong when you have a towel warmer in your bathroom. While the overwhelming majority of people that have these incredible luxuries in their bathrooms won’t have to deal with any sticky situations, if you want to be completely safe – and if you want to make sure that everyone you care about and that Home is also safe – you need to follow these safety tips and tricks.
Regularly check your power cords for any signs of obvious damage
It is absolutely critical that you are sure to check your power cords that are responsible for bringing your towel warmer to life for obvious signs of damage or wear and tear.
The overwhelming majority of sticky situations that happen when electricity is introduced into a wet and humid area like in a bathroom happened because of power cords that are somehow compromised.
Avoid this situation altogether by keeping a lookout for these problems and addressing them before they become catastrophic issues.
Only use GFCI outlets that you plug your towel warmer into
GFCI outlets are going to keep your towel warmer grounded, something that is absolutely critical when you’re talking about a room that is filled with all kinds of water dangers.
Traditional outlets just aren’t going to provide you with the kind of protection that you need, which is why all major building codes require GFCI outlets within 3 feet of any water source.
Seriously. If you haven’t taken the time to upgrade to a GFCI outlet, now is your chance. This is something that absolutely must be done, or you are going to be rolling the dice every time you use your towel warmer.
Be careful of power cords that are barely plugged in
From time to time, people are going to either unplug and then replug your towel warmer in or they are simply going to trip over or get stuck on your power cord.
This is almost always going to cause the plug to come at least a little bit out of the outlet itself – and that can spell danger for you and your loved ones.
You need to make sure that your plug is always perfectly seated into the outlet, and that there is nothing to worry about as far as electricity jumping from connection to connection and possibly causing a fire.
Never overload wall outlets or extension cords
You might not have a tremendous amount of options when it comes time to plug in your new towel warmer, but you would make a major mistake to overload any of the outlets that are currently full or to run extra extension cords or power strips to gain more flexibility.
Yes, you might not realize that you are putting as much stress on your electrical system as you are – but that’s how major accidents happen, and that’s when you find yourself in some very sticky situations.
Make sure not to overload your outlets or you are extension cords. Stick to only three or four appliances on a single household circuit at any one particular point in time.
Beware of hot outlets
If at any point in time you start to notice that your outlets are becoming warm to the touch, are steaming or smoking, or are disfiguring the faceplates because of the heat produced in that outfit you need to immediately shut down any of the appliances you have plugged in and then throw the circuit breaker for that circuit.
A lot of the electrical fires that happen in houses today happened because home owners do not notice a hot situation happening ahead of time. If you want to make sure that you get out in front of these issues, you are going to need to make sure that you are regularly touching your outlet boxes to make sure that there isn’t anything to worry about.
Of course, don’t touch anything if you are wet
At the same time, you need to make sure that you aren’t ever touching anything that runs off of electricity if you are still wet.
A lot of people think that they are going to be alright if they don’t touch things with wet hands while their body is still wet, but nothing could be further from the truth.
You need to make sure that you are completely dry when you are plugging things then, when you are unplugging appliances coming and when you are actually operating something like a towel warmer.
If you aren’t completely dry, you run the risk of creating a really dangerous and highly conductive situation. You are much more likely to get zapped.
Replace outlet covers that are obviously damaged
Your outlet covers orange just designed to keep your home looking clean and organized. They are also designed to make sure that nothing gets into the outlet boxes themselves, and that’s why you are going to want to make sure that they are always in perfect condition.
Even slightly cracked outlet covers can cause some sticky situations, simply because dust, debris, and especially water can penetrate into the outlet box. If that happens, you’re going to be in big trouble.
Whatever you do, never use water to try and put out electrical fires
One of the biggest safety mistakes you could make if you have an electrical fire in the bathroom is to throw water on the situation trying to put it out.
That isn’t how things are going to shake out.
Instead, that water is going to conduct electricity all the way back to the source where it came from – namely you – and you are going to get hit by a big old bolt of electricity.
Obviously, that isn’t exactly ideal – and it may also cause the fire to spread, an even more dangerous situation.
If your bathroom circuits keep tripping, you want to get an electrician to look things over
Circuit breakers in your home are going to do their very best to keep you safe and protected, but they are only going to be valuable if you pay attention to the warning signs that they are sending you.
If your circuit breakers responsible for the bathroom keep tripping tell me you need to contact professional electricians ASAP to have them come and look at your situation.
Only they are going to be able to make sure that you are in living with a potentially dangerous situation on your hands.
Consider having experts install your new towel warmer
If you want to make sure that you are completely safe and sound when it comes to having a towel warmer installed in your bathroom, you’ll want to think about having professionals handle all of the heavy lifting.
Expert electricians are going to be able to have that your new towel warmer setup installed in record time – and they will also be able to hardwire things so that you don’t have to worry about most of the safety concerns we mentioned above.
At the end of the day, it is certainly something to consider. Especially if you are serious about your safety.