You know the types – the ones who've had a shock or two and still believe they're the person to manage their own electrics – 'it works doesn't it?'
We all secretly love the idea of getting something fixed and being the hero of the day, but electricity doesn't chose its victims carefully. Poor electrical work doesn't just put you at risk, it puts your whole family at risk and the fact that 'its 'working' is just taming the lion whilst you leg it from its enclosure!
Hopefully anyone who has been unlucky enough to experience an electric shock (and survived) will not be in a hurry to repeat their experience but unfortunately there are people out there who think it is OK to get a shock (or 3) from electricity and think its perfectly normal.
Sorry folks, but it's not – Electricity can kill. A voltage as low as 50 volts applied between two parts of the human body is enough to cause a current to flow which could stop the heart – pretty scary we hope you would agree.
We've all experienced an electric shock from static electricity – supermarket trolleys have a habit of giving you a wake up call after dragging your feet along the supermarket floor doing the usual tedious weekly shop. Static electricity shocks can be at more than 10,000 volts but the current flows for such a short time that there is no dangerous effect on a person. Lucky really, as it is pretty unpleasant.
The Health and Safety Executive have some excellent information and advice about Electrical Injuries. Take a look at the link HERE and clue yourself up on the facts....Trust us, you won't be in a hurry to reach for the tools and will instead call upon the services of a professional electrician.