Electrical Safety Tips Before Tackling Any Electrical Tasks

Electricity is all around us and used every day of our lives, it’s easy to become complacent regarding how dangerous it is. But, the simple fact is that an electric shock can damage your nervous system, cause brain damage, blindness, or even kill you. 

If you’re about to work with electricity you need to treat it with respect. That’s why it’s a good idea to use the following safety tips before you work with electricity.

We asked a level 2 electrician Sydney to give us some safety tips before tacking any electrical tasks. 

Turn It Off

The biggest thing you should always do when working with electricity is to turn off the supply. You do have a choice here, you can shut off the power to your entire house, or you can shut off the power to one circuit only.

However, unless you have wired the house yourself and know exactly which cable is which, it is essential to verify the power is off in the circuit you’re working on before you do anything.

It’s surprisingly easy for a circuit to be misnamed and for you to think it is dead when it is actually live.

Lighting

Depending on where you’re working you may find that the light is very limited and you won’t be able to turn the power on to see better. It’s essential that you consider this before you start and have a torch or a light powered by a generator ready. 

This will ensure you can see what you’re doing and the wiring is completed properly. Working in the dark can result in a circuit being wired incorrectly and causing a short in your circuits. That’s one mess you don’t want to have to sort out.

Contact

It is very important that someone else is in the vicinity and knows what you are doing. They should be able to check o you from time to time to ensure you are okay. This is an essential safety requirement that will help you to get the necessary treatment if something does go wrong.

Leaving Unattended

When you’re working on an electrical circuit, even with the power off, it’s very important that you never leave it unattended. You won’t know if someone else touches it, giving themselves an unexpected shock or disrupts the wiring, making it wrong when you’ve finished with it later.

You should also never turn the circuit back on before you’ve completely finished the work, this will ensure it is safe for others to touch the switch or socket without getting an electric shock.

Consider Your Insurance

Taking all the right precautions will help to ensure that your electric is rewired properly and any issue is resolved. However, you should take a moment to consider your insurance and whether they will cover a fire caused by your electrical rewiring.

If they won’t then you could end up seriously out of pocket if the worst did happen.