One of the most significant parts of getting ready is getting your hair done. No outfit or night out is complete without you having spent a notable amount of time in front of your bathroom mirror fidgeting with your hair and making sure it has the right amount of sheen and bounce. The way that most women achieve the perfect hair is by careful manipulation of water temperature in the shower, hair care, and of course, by the use of hair styling tools like hairdryers, straighteners, and curling irons. Most women in America own all three. It doesn’t matter how curly or straight your hair is, for a couple of hours, you can look exactly how you want to all due to the tools which you use.

These tools are also fairly common and affordable. Hairdryers have been around for a very long time. Straighteners and curling irons, however, have gained popularity after the turn of the century. All of these tools are also, in fact, electrical appliances. You plug these appliances into the electrical socket; using motors and fans, they dispel heat so you can control how your hair looks at all times.

However, like any other appliances, can hairdryers and straighteners cause fires? Yes, they can. Read on as we tell you ways this can happen and what you must look out for.

What is a Hair Dryer?

A hairdryer or blow dryer is an electromechanical device that blows ambient or hot air over damp hair to help the hairdryer evaporate water to dry the hair. It’s a handheld device that has a fan motor encased in the container. When you plug the cable into the socket and turn on the hairdryer, the motor to the fan starts moving and dispels hot or cool air out into the world. The speed of this air can be altered and changed. The heat setting in a blow dryer is what allows it to control the volume and frizz in your hair.

What is a Straightener?

A straightener is also a hand-held appliance that has metal plates that heat up when you attach an electrical cable to it. You would then put your hair between these metal plates and pull them through so they’re straight. Straighteners are also sometimes called flat irons. However, many people tend to focus on their hair straightening qualities instead.

How Can These Appliances Cause Fires?

People generally use hair straighteners and hair dryers in their bathrooms when they’re fixing their hair. Bathrooms are places where people also end up using a lot of water. If you’re not careful, you may expose the heating element of the hairdryer or straightener to water which can cause a problem in the circuitry and lead to an explosion or fire.

Moreover, one of the most important things to note about these appliances is that most people tend to forget that they’ve turned them on. In the throes of getting ready for your night out, you may have left your straightener on your countertop where it is still on. All straighteners and hair dryers have a heating element, and if you have anything flammable around these appliances, a fire is not too far off from occurring.

To stop fires from occurring due to blow dryers and hair straighteners, you should unplug these appliances as soon as you’re done with them.

How Can We Prevent Fires Caused by Hair Dryers and Straighteners?

You must exercise caution whenever you’re using electrical appliances of any kind. However, specifically with flat iron and hair dryers, you need to know when these appliances are on and when they’re shut off. Listed below are some of the ways you can prevent fires:

1. Buy hair straighteners that turn off after a while.

Most hair straighteners are smart enough to turn off on their own after they’ve been left on. However, you may be using one that doesn’t have this program. In this case, you’re more likely to catch yourself in a fire than others.

2. Keep Hair Straighteners at Low Temperature

Hair straighteners run very hotly.  They can heat up to 455F, which is high enough to burn through cotton sheets, leather, and paper. Additionally, charging your flat iron to such high heat is also not beneficial for your hair. Instead, you can keep the temperature gauge at a lower range, so if you leave the flat iron on, it doesn’t cause a fire.

3. Never Keep Your Appliances on Wet Surfaces

If you’re going to use your hairdryers and straighteners, it is probably best that you don’t use these somewhere there is water spillage. Use them where the floors are well insulated, and there’s no water around. You should also never plug such appliances with wet hands.

4. Never Use Appliances with Faulty Cords

The appliances you’re using shouldn’t have faulty cords or any exposed wires. If there are any of these instances, that your appliance will catch on fire. You should also not use a very old appliance, as old wiring is more prone to catching on fire than newer ones.

For more information on how hairdryers and straighteners catch fire and how to prevent this, visit us at www.911restorationriverside.com.