# Unplugging appliance to prevent household fires **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407 "2005-08-03T11:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407/21 "2005-08-04T13:14:10Z")
I do not unplug, except for those small appliances stored in cabinets to reduce counter clutter. I do have fire insurance, however. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407/22 "2005-08-04T13:32:40Z")
BTW, I unplug things such as irons, hotplates and power tools, but not the TV and video. My wife won’t even leave the TV on standby, as she read an article claiming that it uses exactly the same amount of electricity as when you’re watching it, which is just plain nonsense for pretty much any TV made in at least the last twenty years, but there’s no way to convince her that the imformation she read in a Sunday magazine might be _wrong_. My father in law unplugs _everything_ at night, which means he has to reset the timer on the video recorder every morning. I asked him why, he said “because of lightning” - although I’m not sure how lightning is meant to be a problem, since his electricity is supplied by underground cables and _everything_ - is earthed nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407/23 "2005-08-04T14:11:14Z")
I always unplug certain things in my home, and I am constantly driving roomates crazy with this. When I was young, my parent’s house burned down from a plugged in coffee maker that was not in use. So, I unplug the coffee maker. I had a roomate in college who unplugged the toaster b/c she had heard of a toaster fire. Since then, I also unplug the toaster. I’ve expanded this to include my in-window air conditioner, any hair equipment, fans, and on and on. I have to keep it somewhat in check b/c I’m sure my roomate would be displeased to find that I’ve left for vacation and unplugged every single item in the house (which I used to do). I chock it up to a fire phobia. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407/24 "2005-08-04T15:26:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > All mains-powered appliances are now supplied with a moulded, fused plug, supposedly containing a suitably-rated fuse for the appliance (the fuse can be removed for replacement, even though the plug cannot be fully disassembled). You’re making me angrier and angrier at our stuck-in-the-mud electrical code writers. Inexcusable sloth on their part, I say. Inexcusable. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407/25 "2005-08-04T16:26:06Z")
Don’t know if this is my dad’s influence, but my mom will get off the phone if it’s storming and most certainly unplugs her computer at the same time. Lightning through the phone lines and all that. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407/26 "2005-08-04T16:58:28Z")
One reason in the UK that we need the extra protection, is that the combination of mains frequency 50Hz along with the voltage - 220v happens to be a bad mix for human health. The frequency is just about right for stopping the heart, and the voltage means that the risk of insulation breakdown is greater, certainly until modern materials, the liklehood of mains flexes weakening and failing was a concern and led to our standards in the UK. Individual appliance protection through fuses in the plugs pretty much protects only the manins wiring and the appliance from setting alight, even a lowly 3Amp fuse isn’t much protection for the human body - not directly anyway, though it is more likely to disconnect an appliance sooner should the casing become live. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unplugging-appliance-to-prevent-household-fires/315407.md?page=1)