The Electrical Wiring In Your Home Or Business Needs A Regular Check-up

Nothing lasts forever. And that applies to all of the electrical wiring in your home, business, or wherever else it may be.

The big problem with electrical wiring is that you can’t see it. It is hidden away in the walls, the ceilings, and under the floors of buildings, and so we just never think about it. Consider this: when you enter a room and it is dark and you are about to press the light switch, do you wonder if the light will actually come on? Of course not.

Even if by some small chance it didn’t, you would immediately think that the bulb had blown and go and get another from the store cupboard. The last thing on most people’s minds would be wondering if there was something wrong with the wiring.

To Read more: EICR test

Electricity Has The Power To Kill, And Sometimes Does

Electricity is all around us. We use it all day and every day. It powers our phones, our laptops, our tablets, the lighting in our homes, street lamps, electric vehicles, cookers, radiators, the tills that we pay at for our shopping in retail giants, our kettles, the water for a shower or bath – the list just goes on and on.

Yet here is the strange thing: you cannot see electricity; you cannot hear it; you cannot smell it; you cannot taste it. Yet you will pretty soon know if you touch it! Depending on the amount of power it is producing, you will either feel a slight shock, or on the other hand it can kill you. Quite easily. In 2015/2016 there were some 1,380 deaths in the UK caused as a result of electricity. Between 2010 and 2016, 26 electricians died – and these are the people who are trained in the use of electricity. (Source:  http://www.neighbourhoodwatch.net/how-many-electricians-die-a-year-in-the-uk/). 

The problem is that, as far as most of us are concerned, electricity is just “there”. We don’t think about how it gets to where we need to use it, because all the cables and wires are hidden in the walls, floors, and ceilings of buildings, and run underground through the streets in order to get to the building in the first place. 

But here’s the catch: all those wires, cables, sockets, and so on, deteriorate over time. But because we can’t see them, or they are tucked away in a cupboard, we don’t give them a second thought. Yet faulty and old wiring is one of the main causes of electrical fires in buildings. However old your electrical installation is, it may get damaged and will suffer from wear and tear.

How old is your electrical installation? Well, for example, if you have fixed cables coated in rubber, they have not been used since the 1960’s. Fixed cables coated in lead or fabric are even older.
Light switches on bathroom walls are prior to the 1960’s. There are other indications as well. The short answer is that you should have your electrical installation checked by a qualified electrical testing companies and get an EICR report (Electrical Installation Condition Report) on a regular basis.

In a private home that is every ten years, but in commercial premises it may be as little as every three.

Over Half A Million Washing Machines Affected By Dangerous Fault

If you have bought a Hotpoint or Indesit washing machine since 2014 you may have one of the 20% or so of machines that are affected by a fault and are being recalled by the manufacturers, Whirlpool especially during Christmas time. Over half a million machines in Britain are affected.

The problem is that when the heating element in the machine is activated the extra current that runs through the machine can cause a component in the door lock system to overheat. According to Whirlpool, depending on the product features, this can cause a risk of fire. However, the company claims that this can only happen in “very rare” cases. Nonetheless, the company is recalling some 519,000 machines.

Seventy-nine fires are thought to have been caused by the fault, which develops over time according to Whirlpool, although “none had been significant enough to cause more than minor damage or cause any serious injuries.

To Read more: PAT testing