A warning has been issued to anyone using an electric heater this winter.
Electric heaters are a popular way to warm up a space without having to run heating for the entire house. A good money saver if, for example, you live alone and you only want to heat one room, or you have an area without a central heating radiator that you want to add a little extra warmth to.
But if you are planning on using an electric heater or plug-in radiator this winter, you must follow a strict rule on how to plug them in.
In particular, safety experts stress that you should never plug any kind of electric heaters into extension leads.
Popular British YouTuber Kip Hakes posted on Facebook with the tip. He said: “As it’s getting colder in the UK, it’s really important to remind you of this potentially life saving tip.
“NEVER plug electric heaters into extension leads – they should go into sockets on the wall. You’ll end up with a scorched extension lead at best, or a house fire at worst.”
This is backed up by safety experts.
Electrical firm DRA Electricals warned on its website: “We cannot stress the importance of this enough – please, please, please do not, ever, plug electric heaters (of any kind) into extension leads.
“Please only plug heaters directly into the mains sockets. And please don’t leave heaters on permanently, turn them off. If your room isn’t warm enough consider a more efficient permanent option, rather than a portable heater.”
The firm explained a ‘true story’ account of a real fire caused by exactly this issue.
They wrote about a production team working in an office in Newcastle. There, a receptionist had plugged a heater with a sealed plug into a cheap extension lead.
But ‘what made the situation worse’, they said, was that the extension was then plugged into another extension.
They said: “The cable reel was coiled up inside – if you are going to use a cable reel, always fully unwind it for safety.
“This cable reel was powering a printer, and a franking machine. Plus the other extension lead and a heater. It was overloaded.
“We advised the staff to not do this; to only plug the heater into the wall direct. There were not enough sockets in the room unfortunately, not leaving one to plug the heater in.
“We were very concerned the heater may cause overhearing of the extension lead. We left the heater unplugged, and also unplugged the extension lead.
“The very next day, we were contacted by the manager of the business, to inform us our guidance had not been followed.
“The heater had been plugged back into the extension lead. We’re not sure if the extension went back into the cable reel or into the wall direct, but what we do know, is that the heater on the extension lead caused the extension socket to overheat and melt, in fact it was a miracle no further damage was caused.
“Technically it did catch fire, although no actual flames were seen. But from the pictures you can see the white plug is very clearly burnt.
“We see after effects of this quite often, although it’s a first for us to hear of it happening so soon after our visit. We’re just glad it happened when someone was in the room, and not during the night when the heater may have been left unattended.”
