Is It Safe To Leave A Toaster Plugged In? 

Keeping tabs on small appliances like toasters can be annoying. I used to leave it on until something awful happened to me. I think you know where I’m going with this. So, is it safe to leave a toaster plugged in? Tune in to find out! 

It is not safe to keep a toaster plugged in. Although toasters are small appliances, they can easily catch fire during rough conditions. Therefore, your room could be up in flames within minutes. So, it is best to unplug it when not in use.   

Thus, I would suggest maintaining this thumb rule of unplugging your toaster after every use. I know it sounds frustrating, but it is necessary. So, if you have time, please stick around till the end to know more about this, like the advantages of unplugging a toaster, what to do when it catches fire, and much more. 

How Does A Plugged-in Toaster Catch Fire? 

Your toaster can catch fire due to power surges. So, it is better to check your area for voltage instabilities. Also, internal debris helps facilitate this process even further.

So, now I will explain these situations in full detail. Remember to read this part of the article very carefully. This part will help you from potential injury or even death. So, here are the ways your plugged-in toaster may catch fire. 

Power Surges 

Power surges are the prime reason toasters catch fire. Unstable voltage levels are typical in some areas of the U.S. Hence if you keep your toasters plugged in, a high-power surge can overcharge them. Overcharging is a big no-no, especially for toasters.

Usually, your toaster requires little power to heat the coil or heating element slowly. Thus, the power surge can greatly overheat the coil to unstable levels. This way, your next grilled cheese could be a fire cheese sandwich. And yes, I’m talking about the ‘’time to spend more cash on replacing your toaster” kind of fire cheese.  

Debris Inside The Toaster

Besides a power surge, your toaster might also catch fire in normal conditions! And don’t you dare blame your brand-new toaster for that! If you eat toast every day in the morning, then you better check your toaster, okay?

Upon inspection, you’ll see different debris, like breadcrumbs, pizza dough, or a hairy little dead vermin. So, these particles create little or large sparks (depending on the amount) to catch fire in your toaster. So, please often inspect your toaster’s insides to avoid such a situation. 

Thus, now you’re aware of these cases. So, the first situation that happened to me was the power surge. I went to work one day, and like you, I didn’t bother to unplug my toaster. Thankfully, I came home early that day and smelled something burning. So, from then on, I always make sure to plug off my toaster. And I hope that you’ll do the same.

And a bonus tip, whether you leave your toaster plugged in or not, always make sure to give it a clean every now and then. It will keep your toaster functioning for a long time and will also prevent any fire-related accidents. 

Benefits Of Keeping Your Toaster Unplugged

Do you keep your toaster unplugged only to save yourself from hazards? Of course not! There are advantages to keeping your toaster unplugged. As such, without further ado, here they are!

It Saves Your Annual Electricity Bill

Many kinds of research prove that keeping these small appliances on wastes electricity. Not only that, it increases your average bill up to ten or twenty percent! That’s like paying one extra bill for the thirteenth month! So, keep these accounts in your mind. Unplugging your toaster every day will save about five to seven percent of your annual bill. 

So, this can be life-changing for high-bill payers (like you!). And some areas have high electricity costs. So, five percent can be about two hundred to three hundred dollars! Therefore, please unplug your toasters daily.  

It Protects The Environment 

Let’s talk about this for a little bit. As you know, you and I are responsible for conserving the environment. Hence, you must save electricity as much as possible. A prime method of producing electricity is fossil fuels. And you know that these resources are finite and getting more scarce day by day. 

Therefore, keeping something small like a toaster off might not sound like a big deal. But if more people like you do it collectively, massive changes are achievable. So, if you love nature, then help the world out a bit and keep your toaster unplugged.  

Moreover, some toasters can be energy vampires. Hence, it is not enough to turn the switch off. That’s why the best thing to do is remove the plug altogether. Now you should know one other thing. Let’s say your toaster catches fire suddenly. What do you do? If you wish to know, please keep going!

Methods To Use When Your Toaster Catches Fire

You can use standard methods like a fire extinguisher to extinguish a flaming toaster. But make sure you know how to operate an extinguisher properly. 

As I said before, toasters can catch fire without any warning. It could be for any of the reasons above, and there will be no time to prevent it. So, here are some ways you can use to handle such an alarming situation. Make sure to implement these methods appropriately. 

Use the Oven Technique: This is a very effective method. If you see your toaster catching fire, quickly put it inside your vacant oven. Most flames require oxygen to spread their terror. As such, dumping it in the oven cuts off the oxygen supply. 

Pour water Quickly: This technique sounds like a no-brainer but hear me out first. Make sure the inside of your toaster isn’t greasy! Sometimes it may be greasy because of the food items. So, if you pour water, it’ll be like adding more fuel to the fire. So, please be very careful about this process. 

Use Baking Soda: This is a quick and straightforward way to put out grease flames on your toaster. You might not have a big oven lying around. Hence, using an everyday item like baking soda can easily do the job for you! Just remember that sprinkling it little by little won’t work. So, dump the whole box or at least half of it.

So, I hope you will keep these methods in mind if such a scenario arises. But wait! Don’t you wish to know if you can prevent such a situation from happening at all? If so, then stay because I will teach you how to clean your toaster. 

Steps To Clean Your Toaster 

So, now I will tell you the following steps to clean your toaster. But first, you’ll need some items. These are a toothbrush, a sponge, a cleaning solution, and safety gloves. Cleaning your toaster will prevent crumbs from catching sparks which might lead to a fire. So, here’re the steps! 

Step 1: Use the toothbrush to remove the crumbs sticking inside the toaster. You’ll need to be careful while doing this if the toaster is hot. Also, plug off the toaster before cleaning it. 

Step 2: Pull out the bottom tray of the toaster and clean it thoroughly using the solution with the sponge. And then gently put it back inside.

Step 3: Finally, turn your toaster upside down and give it a good shake. Don’t be too rough. So, this shaking will remove any residue crumbs left inside the toaster.