I usually leave appliances connected unless I’m going away for an extended period of time. I pull out all plugs if I’m going off on holiday but I don’t really think it is necessary. The main fuse box in my flat is very sensitive and even a bulb blowing can be enough to shut that circuit down. I think home electrics are much safer now than in days gone by. But I still don’t like to take chances.

Lawyers exist.

Shouldn’t they be given something to do?

Also, aren’t security systems electrical devices?

~ ~ Un-plug the house from the Grid.—

Crock pot – I leave mine on even when I leave the house.

Theoretically it can start a fire if it’s sitting on top of paper, but who does that?

I unplug my space heater when I leave home. With a 1500 watt element, it seems like the most likely item to cause trouble. And even then it isn’t very likely.

My refrigerator is always on, even when I leave the house. Same goes for my clocks and electric outlet timer.

I basically know what causes electrical fires, how to prevent them, and how to extinguish them, so I’m fine with that.

Everything else gets turned off when I leave my house (except for my air conditioner on hot days), and I always unplug my toaster after I use it. Everything else is left plugged.

I think the only electric appliance I attend is my toaster, but that’s only because I like to spread the butter when the toast is at peak heat.

I have renters insurance.

But this is so low on my list of things to be concerned about I can’t even bother. If you unplug all your shit when you leave the house I hope you don’t drive. One has a real risk and the other doesn’t.

I leave my tumble dryer on when I leave the house. I even used to leave the one on that had a product recall on it because it started fires. Life is too short to worry about stuff like that. Everything is left plugged in at night or when we go out but I turn off the socket switch if it is something that is on standby (you know that in the UK we have switches on our wall sockets, which I think is a very good idea)

I leave most everything plugged in when there is no electrical storm on the horizon. During lightning storms I turn off the power switch to my TV and entertainment system and unplug the washing machine since it has a bunch of electronics on it. I am more concerned about a strike damaging my electronics rather than it starting a fire

Anything with a resistive heat element I don’t leave unattended. This includes clothes dryers, washing machines, oven etc… If I run a load of dishes and leave I turn off heated dry. Crock pots are my exception but I leave them out where they pose little fire risk. Cloths dryers are one of the worst things to leave.

Thank you all. But do the instructions of all appliances say “Do not leave unattended”?

@flo that’s really hard to say but in general, electrical appliance manufacturers will cover themselves by putting that statement in their instruction manuals. That way they are covered if there is a fault and your house burns down because you weren’t there to put out the fire.