Energy Safety Tips for the East Vancouver condos for sale

Having good energy safety habits will allow you to be safe for decades no matter whether you are inviting friends or family to reunite at your house or if it is time for you to put your East Vancouver condos for sale. Regardless of whether you look at your home as permanent or as an investment, it is important to protect the long-term health of your home by developing strong energy safety practices. 

Electrical Outlet Safety

Electrical outlets are the building blocks of electrical outlet safety, here are some tips for ensuring your outlets remain an ally:

• Make sure that only outlets with a “ground-fault circuit interrupter” are installed in rooms where water or moisture are present (like kitchens and bathrooms).
• Don’t overload outlets (no matter how necessary it seems)
• Replace missing or broken wall plates
• Include electrical “outlet safety covers” (especially in houses with children or pets).

Appliance and Extension Cord Safety

Extension and appliance cords can put your house at risk if not used properly. If you want to someday be able to put your East Vancouver Condo (or house) up for sale, follow these tips:

• Never use cords that are frayed or cracked
• Cords should never be warm (stop using an appliance or extension cord that is warm immediately).
• Always grab the plug to remove a cord or appliance instead of pulling the cord.
• Never nail or staple electrical cords to the wall or hide cords under rugs or carpets.
• Remember that extension cords are for temporary and never permanent use.
• Only use extension cords that have been approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or by Electrical Testing Laboratories (ETL) or by any company on the list of Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories.

Simple Power Strip Safety Can Pay Off When Your East Vancouver Condos For Sale

Power Strip Safety? Bet you didn’t know protecting your house involved proper use of power strips. Here are some rules of thumb for using power strips correctly:

• Only use one power strip or surge protector in each duplex outlet
• Never plug one power strip or surge protector into another power strip or surge protector
• Only use power strips or surge protectors that have internal circuit breakers and that have been approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or by Electrical Testing Laboratories (ETL) or by any company on the list of Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories.
• Don’t use power strips or surge protectors for space heaters, refrigerators, toaster ovens or microwave ovens.
• Make sure you aren’t overloading the load of your power strip or surge protector by adding up the wattage required for the items you are plugging in and comparing it to the capacity of your brand of power strip or surge protector.

General Electrical Safety Tips

Keeping your house as safe as possible preserves its value for when you are ready for it to be on the East Vancouver real estate listings. Here are some general tips you can follow:

• Have an all-purpose fire extinguisher on every level of your home (and never try to put out an electrical fire using water)
• Have at least one Carbon Monoxide detector on every level of your home
• Have your HVAC system and Water Heater inspected and serviced regularly by licensed professionals. Make sure your AC and Furnace filters are cleaned regularly.  
• If you ever smell the rotten egg smell of leaking gas do not use the telephone, matches, or lighters and do not turn lights on or off and leave thermostats alone. Evacuate the house and call your utility company or 911. Do not return until the Utility Company gives you the all clear.
• Check pilot lights occasionally
• Do not place items on top or around your television, computer monitor, CPU, or game consoles, make sure you allow space for airflow around these devices.

If you follow these tips, you should be able to maintain the electrical safety necessary to keep your house safe for when you are ready to put it in the East Vancouver real estate listings or for when you are ready to offer yours among East Vancouver condo for sale.