Most of us are good about turning out the lights and locking the front door before heading off to bed. But what about pulling the plug on appliances and electronics? Without being alarmist, our pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab, along with outside safety experts, say certain devices in the home should be unplugged at the end of each day, or anytime they’ll be out of use for an extended period.
While fire safety is the main reason for the precaution, you’ll also cut down on vampire power, or the electricity that’s consumed by electronics even when they’re not in use. That could save you a couple hundred dollars in energy costs over the course of the year, while extending the life of your equipment by eliminating the nonstop wear and tear.
Space heaters
With colder nights right around the corner, it’s important to remember that space heaters should only be operated when someone is there in the room—fully awake. But it’s not enough to turn the space heater off before bed. “User manual safety instructions commonly instruct users to unplug a cord-and-plug space heater when not in use or when leaving the premises or the immediate area of the space heater for extended periods of time,” says Joel Hawk, principal engineer in the Consumer, Medical, and Information Technologies group at UL Solutions. That’s because a short circuit, power surge, or other mechanical malfunction could spark an electrical fire at the plug or in the unit itself.
Battery chargers
Lithium-ion batteries, the kind used to power e-bikes, cordless tools, and the like, have emerged as a leading fire hazard in homes. In New York City alone, they’ve caused 800 fires, 400 injuries, and 30 deaths since 2022, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Many of these blazes start when the batteries are left charging in a plugged-in charger. This can heat up the battery to the point of combustion, which is why it’s critical to unplug chargers as soon as the battery reaches a full charge. Under no circumstances should you leave a battery charging before going to bed or leaving the house for any period of time.
Countertop appliances
Get in the habit of unplugging small kitchen appliances when they’re not in use. This especially goes for heat-generating appliances, including air fryers, toaster ovens, and coffeemakers. Make sure to keep your countertop appliances clean, too, since the buildup of grease or crumbs increases the risk of fires and smoking.
Video game consoles
There are fewer reports of Xboxes and Nintendo Switches bursting into flames, but video game consoles are one of the biggest sources of vampire power in the home, so unplugging them could save you $50 or more in annual operating costs.
If the console is part of a larger home entertainment system, including your TV and speakers, our pros recommend plugging all the devices into a power strip with surge protection, so that you can power everything down at once. The surge protection will also prevent the equipment from being damaged by sudden voltage spikes, like those caused by lightning.
Hairdryers
If you’re someone who showers before bed, chances are you occasionally dry your hair at night, too. Given the intense heat created by hairdryers and other hairstyling tools, they make the list of devices that should stay unplugged when not in use. The good thing is that bathrooms are required by code to have GFCI outlets, which helps prevent fires by cutting off electricity to damaged equipment, like an overheated hairdryer. But the GFCI could always malfunction, so it’s best to play it safe by unplugging your hairdryer until you need to use it again.
Having written thousands of product reviews and how-to articles on all aspects of home ownership, from routine maintenance to major renovations, Dan (he/him) brings more than 20 years of industry experience to his role as the director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. A one-time roofer and a serial remodeler, Dan can often be found keeping house at his restored Brooklyn brownstone, where he lives with his wife and kids.
