Appliance Repair Safety
Safety should be one of your top priorities! It doesn't matter how much money you save if you loose your sight, a finger, or your life. I'm not claming this is everything you need to know (view our Legal Stuff page) however, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Do not become a circuit!
Power must flow from positive to negative in order for it to cause an effect on anything within the circuit. The better your connection to ground the better conductor you become. Eg. Standing in water, leaning on a conductive surface like a copper pipe, touching a grounded surface with bare skin (like an appliance).
2. Don't get cut!
The difference between sweet appliance repair victory and a trip to the emergency room to get stitched up are only one wrench slip apart. It's a good idea to always wear gloves when repairing appliances but nothing is better than being mindful of were your hand will go if your screwdriver, wrench, or razor does something other than what you intended.
3. Don't Jimmy Rig it!
To Jimmy Rig:
To fix something regardless of how it looks or how long it lasts. Using any materials that are available to you in a creative way to make something work.
Using rubber bands to hold your steering wheel in place, because you lost the bolts that are supposed to hold it.
It must be some kind of coincidence that I have an uncle named Jimmy and he loves to do this (he is good at it but even so…)
Rigging something or bypassing safety devices can get you going again in a hurry but it can also cause injury or death to you or someone you love. If your like me it is rare you go back to correct something later once it's working.
4.Watch out for moving parts!
Anything that moves has the potential to cause you a great deal of pain and possibly permanently remove parts of your body. Looks can be deceiving its not the size of the part, it's the weight, speed, edge, and inertia behind it.
