18 things your electrician wishes you knew

Don’t describe the kind of ceiling fan or light fixture you’re looking for and expect me to find one that fits your vision perfectly. Go to the hardware store and pick up your own items so you can guarantee they’re what you want. Just get in touch with me before you buy it in case it won’t fit correctly.

Here are 10 habits of cheapskates you can follow to save money.

One of the best ways to show your appreciation is telling your family and friends about me. My business thrives on word-of-mouth recommendations.

I get called in all the time for problems with space heaters. If you leave the house while the heater is running, the connection could get loose and burn up the plug, which could start a fire. Give your space heater the space it needs, and turn it off when you aren’t using it.

Discover 20 hidden things in your home that may be a fire hazard.

If I was working on your bedroom lighting and an outlet in your garage stops working a few days later, that’s just a coincidence. I’ll come back for the second project, but don’t expect me to do it for free because I “broke” it the last time. If I wasn’t working with that circuit, this new problem is unrelated.

Window AC units blast for hours at time and use massive amounts of energy. An extension cord – and usually even sharing the circuit powering your AC with something else – overloads the wires. If they get too hot, the wires could short out and start a fire. Make sure the unit gets its own circuit, meaning a switch on your electrical panel dedicated to your AC and nothing else.

Discover 40+ things most homeowners aren’t doing but need to.

Older light fixtures won’t necessarily work with energy-efficient CFL and LED bulbs. If you want to stay away from incandescent light bulbs, you might need to replace the whole fixture.

Labelling the switches on your circuit board will save me guesswork (and time). Hiring either me or another electrician will make the job easier in the future, so we don’t need to turn every single one off before getting to work.

Most of us come from family-owned companies who are just trying to do right by the customer.

Sign up here to have Reader’s Digest’s favourite stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Source: RD.com