At the insistence of other members of my household, we unplug the toaster but not the coffee maker that is next to it.
Maybe if we got a toaster with a clock on it, I could be spared the requirement of remembering to unplug it.
YONKERS, NY — Some 58 percent of Americans never wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, 70 percent never wear hearing protection when using a gas lawn mower or leaf blower, and 27 percent never use sunscreen when they’re in the sun for a long time, according to a nationally representative poll of 1,000 Americans conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
The poll reveals what behaviors Americans do which they probably shouldn’t including: drive at least 10 mph over the speed limit on highways (25 percent often, 44 percent occasionally), talk on a cell phone (no hands-free device) while driving, (17 percent often, 36 percent occasionally) and leave items on the stairs at home (15 percent often, 22 percent occasionally).
The poll also reveals what behaviors Americans don’t do that they probably should including: read warnings that come with a prescription (9 percent never do), and unplug the toaster/toaster oven when not in use (50 percent never do).
Don’t most toasters have to be plugged in for the bread to stay down? I know in all the toasters I’ve had, that was the case. But I just use fairly cheap toasters. Maybe the better ones have a different mechanism.
No, I don’t unplug. I also am not worried about leaving a pot on low on the stove as I go out for an hour or two to run errands. Same with dishwasher and dryer. I’m often out of the house when they run. My mom did once accidentally leave a stew in the oven for many hours when we went to a party when I was a kid. Problem was, she thought she had turned the stove off. Instead, she rotated the dial the wrong way, so the oven was at like 550 for about five hours. At any rate, the house did not burn down, but the thick oily smoke went everywhere in the house and took a few days to clean out and deodorize.
I misread the poll as “Do you keep your toaster plugged in?” which is the exact opposite of what it actually says, so I voted wrong.
I have a toaster oven rather than a traditional slotted pop-up toaster. It sits on my counter, plugged in, all the time. I use it fairly often, both to toast things and as an oven if I’m baking something small.
I generally leave the toaster plugged in but after fighting with my wife for years about it I’ve finally surrendered and we unplug it. Luckily we’re getting rid of the stupid things for a combi oven and that will be built in an be ready for use whenever I want it.
I have a small kitchen and very limited counter space. If the toaster isn’t being used it gets unplugged and put in the kitchen utility closet. Ditto for the blender.
Virtually never unplug it. Can’t precisely remember the last time I unplugged it it was so long ago. Er, um. About 9:20 in the morning yesterday when I cleared things out to install a new cooktop.
I’m surprised it’s that high. I’m surprised the poll here shows, as of right now, about a third of people unplugging it. I would have thought these numbers would be less than 10% or so. It’s not something I’ve ever even thought about, much less heard that you’re supposed to do it.
I think, if I were to unplug it every time I use it, I’d sooner get one of those 30 minute timers meant for curling irons. Hit the button, get power for 30 minutes and it shuts off and then you don’t have to worry about the toaster (or curling iron or heating pad etc) getting power again until you hit the button again.
Our toaster oven and coffee makers stay plugged in, except for when the house-cleaner does her job. When she cleans the kitchen she unplugs small appliances and does not plug them back in.
We keep ours plugged in. And it’s right next to the bathtub on a tippy table that the cat likes to jump on.
So, we’re all set!
I’m not sure how to vote. I have only two electrical outlets, and my coffee maker is always plugged into one (priorities, guys). The other one gets juggled between a toaster, a countertop pizza cooker and an air fryer. So while I don’t feel a need to keep any of them unplugged, most of the time two of them will be.
Yes. Haven’t used it in years. Not even sure where it is.
FWIW I just did a walk-through on our city’s new fire education trailer - which is super cool and interactive, and I hope your city has one too! - and in the kitchen area one of the things they have happen is that the plugged-in toaster sparks and catches fire. That’s along with stove, oven, microwave and trash can fires.
So, I guess the FD thinks a toaster catching fire can be enough of an issue that they use it as an example.
Reporting from Britain here. Every power socket has a built-in switch made to rather exacting standards.
That makes it much easier- just switch off. I can’t see any need to pull out the plug as well, which takes longer
and is more difficult as our plugs are retained pretty firmly by the sockets.
I’ve also always heard that dishwashers are the appliances which are likely to start fires.
I’ve always had toaster ovens, and always leave them plugged in. Growing up we had one toaster oven that’s metal case had a 110 volt differential to the metal sink it was next to. I discovered that the hard way. I’m not sure if we replaced it, or just stopped touching the toaster and the sink at the same time. Still kept them plugged in.
Was that example a toaster in use?
No it was just plugged in and started smoking (advice from the fire lieutenant: unplug it). Here’s the sales page for the trailer we got, if anyone’s interested to see what they look like.
FWIW I (the OP) grew up in a house that never unplugged. Once I got married the Marriage Partner-In-Chief mandated from on high that the toaster shall remain unplugged unless it is, well, toasting.
We also never leave the washer, dryer, oven, nor dishwasher running in an empty house.
We do, however, regularly leave slow cookers going (on low) all day in our absence.
No, we never unplug the toaster. I remember a few years ago, though, when the toaster started producing an awful odor of something burning every time we used it. After a couple of days of this (!) I looked in the toaster and found a hand-written recipe for making Pisco Sours that had somehow fallen in the slot. It was burned brown and crisp in a few places, but otherwise did not catch of fire, even though it was all but right up against the hot elements. The lesson is: drinking and toasting do not mix!
When I was a kid, we always left the toaster plugged in, and then one day it wasn’t in use but tried to start a fire anyway (fortunately, somebody was home and noticed the sizzling and smoke). I’ve never been exactly clear on whether the electrical fault was in the toaster itself or in the receptacle, but the responding firefighters made it VERY clear that not-in-use toasters should never be left plugged in, and {mumble} decades later, mine doesn’t.
Note also that there have been several recalls on toasters whose heating element could stay energized after popping up (for example, this one, covering nearly half a million toasters).