Kitchen
These are general safety guidelines for using the electrical installation in your kitchen.
DOs
- check flexible leads and appliances such as kettles and toasters are in good condition
- get an electrician to repair damaged cables or equipment
- take special care when using electrical appliances in the kitchen - the mixture of water, hot surfaces, flexes and electricity can be dangerous
DON'Ts
- use any electrical equipment or switches with wet hands
- wrap flexible leads around equipment that is still warm when storing it away
- clean any appliance like a blender, juicer or kettle whilst it is still plugged in
- trail flexible leads across sinks or cookers
- try to retrieve toast stuck in a toaster whilst the toaster is plugged in, and especially not with a knife
- fill a kettle whilst it is plugged in
- fill a steam iron whilst it is plugged in
Sinks
Socket-outlets, switches and other accessories should not be in positions where they may be splashed with water, either directly from taps or by normal use of the sink.
Appliances
Large appliances such as fridges, dishwashers and washing machines can be plugged into a standard socket-outlet, but in modern kitchens, these appliances are often installed under worktops, and sockets mounted behind them are difficult to reach. It is generally more convenient to have a switched fused connection unit mounted at an easily-accessible height above the worktop.
RCD Protection
Socket outlets likely to be used to supply portable equipment outdoors such as lawn mowers, hedge trimmers etc should be RCD protected. The circuits supplying fridges and freezers do not need to be RCD protected unless they can be used for portable equipment out of doors.
