Do You Unplug Small Appliances? Almost Had Tragedy!

[pixiemomma]

Yes! We Had A Fire That Started In The Electrical Outlet Behind A Toaster. Now I Am Super Paranoid And Unplug All Small Appliances After Use.

 

[goofyforlife]

When I was a teen, we were sitting at the dining room table and witnessed our toaster oven spontanously combust into flames. (it was plugged in but not in use......

From that day we NEVER,NEVER leave the toaster plugged in.

 

[LoraJ]

Yipes!
i always forget to unplug. I should do this when I get home.

 

[chesirechik]

Anytime I leave the house. I'm worried about small appliances and DH. He NEVER remembers to unplug stuff.....like the iron.

 

[Poohnatic]

Can you give me an "electricity 101" short course on what you mean? LOL Remember, speak slowly, use small words..." BTW, I just went and unplugged my coffee maker!

T&B

Don't know if I can do it justice, but my friends (the geeks that took electrical engineering) in high school told me that a toaster/toaster oven generates its heat from an interrupted circuit.

As these were the smart guys, I listened to what they said-and at one point I asked if a coffee maker operated on that 'interrupted circuit' principle and was told that it did.

I tried to find how toaster ovens work on the internet, and no luck. I think an email is in order to the friend who first told me this!

Suzanne

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I tried to find how toaster ovens work on the internet, and no luck. I think an email is in order to the friend who first told me this!

Suzanne

Your assignment today is to figure this out and report back! You needed something to do today, right?

T&B

 

[Towncrier]

Toasters, coffeemakers, crockpots, and incandescent lightbulbs (to name a few items) generate heat and light by creating a controlled short circuit across the power line. The amount of power (or current) depends on the resistance of the wire that is used (hence why this type of heating is often called resistive heating). If the resistance is too low or if something makes the short circuit even shorter, the device can overheat and cause a fire.

To answer the initial question, we never unplug our toaster oven but, for some strange reason, often unplug the coffeemaker when not in use. The one time recently that we left the coffeemaker plugged in, someone bumped the power switch and turned it on without putting any water in the pot. I figure that the thing sat that way on our countertop for two or three WEEKS. The funny thing was that I noticed that it was on when I heard the heating element clicking. It seems that the newer coffeemakers have a thermostat that keeps the heater from overheating, even when the pot is empty. I guess we were lucky to have that safety feature.

If you want to know how stuff works, you can always try www.howstuffworks.com for detailed descriptions of practically everything.

 

[Wishing on a star]

My husbands family knows a family whos house burnt to the ground while they went to Church one Sunday morning, because of the toaster!

Toasters are a real danger.

Ours is only plugged in when I am making toast!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

The only small appliance we leave out on the counter is the coffee maker. I am always unplugging it after DH leaves for work. I also imediately unplug the toaster after I use it.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Yep. Only thing we leave plugged in is the microwave. We always unplug the toaster oven, can opener, deep fryer, blender, etc...

 

[mudnuri]

The only small appliance here thats even on the counter is the coffee maker. That is plugged in 24/7 but it's because I dont want to reset the clock/auto brew every night when I go to bed.

The toaster, mixer etc. are not stored on the counters, so they're not plugged in.

Micro is plugged in and on the bakers rack.

I have a Gizmo, that is suppose to be undercounter mounted with the charger, but I hate the way undercounter appliances look. I take out the charger when it's dying and charge it then put it away

Brandy

 

[arminnie]

It seems that the newer coffeemakers have a thermostat that keeps the heater from overheating, even when the pot is empty. I guess we were lucky to have that safety feature.

I just bought a $7 toaster for my new home in New Orleans - it seems to make toast just like the $90 Kitchenaid toaster. I was wondering what the difference in price was for.

I probably don't have any safety features. I did unplug it before I left the city, but there's no power in N.O. anyway and may not be for another month.

The only thing in my freezer is a pound of butter - will be messy if it melts but not too rancid.

 

[NMAmy]

You know, I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one that unplugs everything. I had some friends mocking me not too long ago--asking if I unplugged the washer/dryer, and the tv's, etc. Even DH thinks I'm crazy and insisted I stop unplugging the coffee pot--Mom got us one that turns off automatically but it still makes me nervous.

Thanks for making me feel less abnormal. (I know I can always count on the DIS for that!)

 

[ZachnElli]

To the OP, this happened to me too. Our toaster oven was plugged in and all knobs were turned to the OFF position and we hadn't used it in a week. I came home from the grocery store and could immediatley smell something. I put the groceries down (plastic bags) and went looking for the smell. Came back to the kitchen and the smell was worse! I had sat some groceries bags next to the toaster oven and they were melting! It was also on a GFCI plug in. I threw the toaster oven away and haven't replaced it. It was a new toaster oven, I had only had it a few months.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thanks for making me feel less abnormal. (I know I can always count on the DIS for that!)

The DIS always seems to make me feel either normal or abnormal! Never in between.

I'm not sure how much danger the tv's, etc have. I do want to investigate and fine out and will retrain us to unplug the things that tend to be hazards.

ZachnElli, you were lucky, too. Good thing that you got back home when you did. Very scary to think about!

T&B

 

[Kermit]

We unplug all of our small appliances, partially due to a fear of fire, and partially due to an obsession that requires me to keep them in the cabinet because my counter tops can't have anything on them. Using the crock pot while I'm out of the house makes me very nervous.

We do unplug our TVs and computers when we go on vacation. That's not so much so that they don't start a fire but rather so that if there's a lightening storm they won't be damaged.

 

[disney funseeker]

We unplug all of our small appliances, partially due to a fear of fire, and partially due to an obsession that requires me to keep them in the cabinet because my counter tops can't have anything on them. Using the crock pot while I'm out of the house makes me very nervous.

We do unplug our TVs and computers when we go on vacation. That's not so much so that they don't start a fire but rather so that if there's a lightening storm they won't be damaged.

Are you my twin? That's exactly what I would say.

 

[mrsheppo]

I always unplug my countertop appliances when not in use. A friend of mine lost her house because of a coffeemaker.

 

[christineann]

Toaster ovens have caused many house fires (even when turned off). Always unplug them.

 

[princess pooh]

I always unplug small appliances when I finish using them. FH thinks I'm paranoid but I'll get him to read this thread