10 Things You Should Never Plug into a Power Strip

If your home doesn’t have enough outlets, you’re probably using power strips.  Which is fine, as long as none of THIS stuff is plugged into one.

Here are 10 things you should never plug into a power strip, because it can make them overheat and become a fire hazard.

1.  Refrigerators.  They’re one of the biggest power draws in your home.  They cycle on and off a lot, which can overload a power strip.

2.  Microwaves.  They use a huge amount of wattage.

3.  Coffee makers, toasters, and slow cookers.  Any appliance that heats up will draw a lot of power.  Blenders don’t heat up, but they use a lot of power too.

4.  Air conditioners.  They use a ton of watts, especially when they switch on.

5.  Hair-care appliances.  That includes blow dryers, curling irons, and hair straighteners.

6.  Washing machines.  Even energy-efficient ones shouldn’t be used with power strips.

7.  Portable heaters.  Again, it takes a lot of electricity to heat something up.

8.  Power tools.  They make industrial power strips you can use with them, but they’re more expensive.

9.  Gaming equipment.  You can maybe get away with plugging your PS5 into a power strip.  But gaming computers draw more power.  Either way, you’re better off plugging into a surge protector, and then directly into the wall.

10.  Another power strip.  Daisy-chaining is dangerous because it overloads the strip that’s plugged into the wall.  So it could trip a breaker, or start a fire.

You really shouldn’t plug EXTENSION CORDS into power strips either.  Longer cords create more “electrical resistance,” which is like friction for electricity.  The more resistance there is, the hotter things get. 

(BobVila.com)