Electric iron boxes are among a variety of electrical heating appliances that make life convenient at home. Just like most of the other electrical heating appliances, iron boxes also pose some hazards when they are in use. Fire is one of these hazards. If proper care and attention are not given to iron boxes, there are incidences where they can lead to a fire breakout. Thankfully, you can stay safe by minimising the chances of such fires by doing the following things:

What Type of Fabric Are You Dealing With?

With a wide variety of fabric to iron, you need to be careful when handling cloths. Check out for any fabrics that have been marked as non-iron material and isolate them from the ones that you want to iron. Besides the damage that happens to such fabric when ironing, there may be the risk of a fire breaking out when it is exposed to a hot iron box. In addition, you should also pay attention to any fabric with label specifications that require you to use little heat when you are ironing.

Are You Caring for Your Iron Box?

You should take good care of your iron box to ensure that it is in working order and safe whenever it is in use. First, always store the iron box well to prevent damage to the housing. Keep it from falling on the floor, which could potentially damage the parts encased in the housing. To add on that, you should also check the cable used to connect the iron box to the power supply sockets. Look out for a damaged coat that exposes the wires. Such wires can cause a short circuit when they come into contact, leading to a fire.

If you are not sure of the power supply rating on your sockets, do not risk overloading them by connecting your iron box alongside other appliances on the same socket. Overloaded sockets can cause iron boxes to overheat and cause a fire.

Is Your Model Fire-safe?

Sometimes, you can forget to turn off the power supply after using your iron box. In addition, you might have a lot of ironing to do, forcing you to use the iron for a dangerously long period. In such cases, there is a risk of overheating and causing a fire. Thankfully, some models are fire safe and have an automatic turn-off feature that prevents overheating in such cases. You can have your iron box inspected to ascertain if it has fire protection. If not, trade it in for an alternative model or replace it with a new, fire-safe one.