12 Things You Should Never Plug Into a Power Strip and Why
Power strips are a convenient solution for managing multiple devices, but they can also pose significant safety risks if used improperly. Certain appliances and electronics draw more power than a power strip can safely handle. In this guide, we’ll highlight 12 items you should never plug into a power strip to help you keep your home safe from electrical hazards.
Whether you live in a house, apartment, condo, mobile home, RV, or dorm room, having sufficient electrical outlets to handle all the accessories, appliances, and tools you need can be challenging. And that’s when knowing how to use a power strip device safely sure comes in handy.
Why Power Strip Safety Matters
Power strips are essential for expanding the number of available outlets in a home, but they come with limitations. Overloading a power strip can lead to overheating, electrical fires, and damage to your appliances. Understanding the dos and don’ts of using power strips is crucial for maintaining home safety.
While one of these devices can offer a reasonable solution for too few outlets, it’s a mistake to rely on power strips too much or to use one incorrectly. For safety’s sake, never plug the following items into a power strip.
1. Hair Styling Appliances: A Hot Hazard
You need ’em hot and ready to go, which makes a power strip on the bathroom counter pretty much a godsend when you have only that one outlet.
Here’s the problem with that: Hairdryers, curling wands, and flat irons are required to produce heat, which means they pull large amounts of amperage to get them good and hot. Plugging them into a power strip is just asking for trouble.
These types of hair styling appliances must be plugged directly into a wall outlet—preferably one with a GFCI breaker—to avoid bursting that power strip into flames and or accidentally exposing to water.
2. Keep Your Fridge and Freezer Safe
These appliances pull too much current for a power strip because they are continuously cycling on and off. That will quickly overload a power strip. These items need to be plugged directly into a wall outlet that is dedicated to that single appliance. If you plug other appliances into that same (duplex) outlet, you run the risk of tripping a breaker. But you won’t be burning the house down.
3. Coffee Makers: More Power Than You Think
Seems pretty lightweight to heat up water, right? Not so fast. Most coffee makers need a good deal of amperage to turn gloriously roasted coffee beans into a hot beverage — more than a power strip can guarantee to deliver. Make sure you plug the machine directly into a wall outlet.
4. Toasters and Toaster Ovens: High Heat, High Risk
Here’s the clue: It has exposed wires inside those slots that heat up red hot. It takes a lot of current to fire up that heating element, which can easily overload a power strip. So no. Do not plug your toaster into an extension cord or power strip. Ditto for your toaster oven.
5. Slow Cookers: The Low-and-Slow Dilemma
I agree that this is counterintuitive because wouldn’t you think a slow cooker uses microscopic bits of power? In this case, it’s not the amount of amperage but the length of time requiring continuous power. A power strip cannot guarantee to deliver that kind of energy. Plug the slow cooker safely into a wall outlet before you set it and forget it.
6. Microwaves: More Than Just Convenience
I still think of my microwave oven as a miracle for food preparation, thawing, cooking, and reheating in a fraction of the time it takes a conventional oven. However, such incredible activity demands more energy than what a power strip can deliver. Similar to a traditional electric oven, your microwave oven will forever require its own dedicated wall power outlet.
7. Space Heaters: Potential Fire Hazards
Most portable heaters consume 1,500 watts of energy on their high settings. Connecting one to a power strip and it becomes potentially hazardous due to allowing them to run for an extended period. Although most portable heaters come with built-in safety features that automatically turn off the unit if it starts to overheat, this does not safeguard the power strip itself from overheating. And even a power strip with surge protector should not be assumed to be a reliable safety feature. Space heaters running off a power strip can quickly lead to a fire!
8. Air Conditioners: Cooling at a Cost
Similar to heaters, portable air conditioners are designed to cycle on and off, consuming a significant amount of electrical current, especially during the startup process. This can put a strain on a power strip, leading to either a tripped circuit breaker or dangerous overheating. Let’s just agree that it is wise always to plug these appliances into a dedicated outlet.
9. Blenders: Powerful Motors, Powerful Risk
The size of an appliance doesn’t determine if it’s safe to plug it into a power strip. Certain blenders, like those manufactured by Vitamix and Blendtec, rely on powerful motors to process tougher foods, using as much as 1500 watts of power.
That’s on par with space heaters, toasters, and air conditioners. Safety dictates to always plug a blender directly into a kitchen GFCI outlet.
10. Washing Machines: A Laundry Room No-No
I’ve seen it and hope never to see it again—a washing machine plugged into a power strip. The majority of washing machines have a maximum power consumption of around 1400 watts, which brings them dangerously close to the maximum load capacity of most power strips. Since washing machines are typically left unattended while they run for an extended period, there’s a risk of overheating the power strip during the cycle.
To avoid potential hazards, connect the washing machine directly to its designated wall outlet. This gives you a safe and reliable power supply without risking the overheating and potential dangers associated with using a power strip.
11. Heating Pads and Power Strips: Understanding the Risks
Heating pads, despite being considered low-energy devices, still pose risks when plugged into a power strip. The continuous power draw, especially alongside other high-wattage devices, can overheat the power strip, increasing the risk of electrical failures and hazards. While the risk is comparatively lower than with other appliances, it’s safer to always plug heating pads directly into a wall outlet. Wall outlets are designed to handle power demands more effectively and safely, ensuring a reliable power source without compromising safety.
12. Never Daisy Chain Power Strips
Daisy chaining, or plugging one power strip into another, is a dangerous practice that can easily overload the electrical circuit and cause a fire. Always plug power strips directly into wall outlets and avoid connecting multiple strips together. This is a common but hazardous mistake that can lead to serious electrical issues.
Ensuring Power Strip Safety: Tips and Recommendations
Understanding Power Strips and Surge Protection
Power strips with surge protection offer an added layer of safety by protecting your devices from power surges. However, they are not designed to handle high-wattage appliances. Always check the power strip’s rating before plugging in multiple devices.
Outdoor Use: Is a Power Strip Safe Outside?
Using a power strip outdoors can be dangerous unless it is specifically rated for outdoor use. Moisture and power strips don’t mix, so always ensure you’re using the right type of equipment for outdoor settings to prevent electrical hazards.
Quick Checklist of Do’s and Don’ts
Using power strips can help manage your home’s electrical needs, but safety should always come first. Avoid plugging high-wattage appliances and those that draw power continuously into power strips. By following these guidelines, you can protect your home and family from potential electrical hazards.
The folks at Kolb Electric offer us this handy Do and Don’t checklist so we can know when and how to use a power strip safely:
Do:
- Only connect light-load appliances to power strips, including computers, lamps, clocks, etc.
- Purchase power strips with an internal circuit breaker. This critical safety measure is designed to shield your electronics and reduce the risk of fire.
- Use power strips sparingly. Power strips are not designed to maintain a load for extended periods of time. They can and will overheat if used excessively.
- Make sure that all power strips and surge protectors uncovered so air around the surge protector may circulate freely
Don’t:
- Never “daisy chain” your power strip to another power strip. This is an excellent way to short appliances and will dramatically increase the odds of fire, electrocution, and electric shock. It will also void all manufacturer’s warranty coverage and can result in the denial of a homeowners insurance claim.
- Never use power strips in moist areas, including kitchens, utility rooms, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. We also strongly advise against using them within basements.
- Refrain from using a power strip if it feels hot. Power strips can overheat when they are overloaded, when they are within enclosed spaces, or when there isn’t sufficient ventilation within the room.
- You should never cover, staple, tack, tape, or nail a power strip to any surface. Covering can lead to overheating, while nailing and stapling can damage cords, and tacking and taping won’t provide a stable, permanent attachment. However, it is perfectly safe to use any hooks or loops provided by the manufacturer or incorporated within the design.
Our Top 3 Picks for Power Strips
Here are our top three picks that combine functionality, safety, and convenience to suit various needs and budgets.
- Best Inexpensive: HANYCONY Surge Protector Power Strip
- Best Upgrade: Tripp Lite TLP808B Surge Protector
- Best Home Office: Jgstkcity Desk Clamp Charging Station
Best Inexpensive
HANYCONY Surge Protector Power Strip
This budget-friendly option offers 8 outlets and 4 USB charging ports, making it perfect for families with multiple devices. Its compact design saves space, and the range of cord lengths from 5 ft to 20 ft means you can find the perfect fit for any room. Plus, it’s got overload protection to keep your appliances safe from surges and spikes.
Best Upgrade
Tripp Lite TLP808B Surge Protector
If you’re ready to step up your power strip game, the Tripp Lite TLP808B is a fantastic choice. With an 8ft cord and a right-angle plug, it fits snugly against the wall, saving space. The best part? It comes with a lifetime insurance policy. If it’s ever damaged by a surge, Tripp Lite will replace it and cover any connected equipment too.
Best Home Office
Jgstkcity Desk Clamp Charging Station
For those working from home, the Jgstkcity Desk Clamp Charging Station is a game-changer. It mounts directly to your desk, keeping your workspace tidy and efficient. With 4 USB ports and 3 widely spaced outlets, it’s designed to handle all your gadgets while protecting them from surges. The 6ft power cord provides ample reach to your nearest outlet.
Question: What’s the most surprising item you learned shouldn’t be plugged into a power strip? Share your thoughts and experiences.
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I use an appliance specific power cord temporarily, just to run air fryer , then after use unplug the strip. unfortunately my air fryer has a very short cord and doesn’t reach the outlet on the wall , so I have to use the power strip.
Just know the risk you are taking. Watch it carefully.
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A fish tank or a filter or light for your fish turtles or frogs ect….don’t plug in either.
Thank you for this article. It was very helpful.
What about lamps whit the new bulbs? The ones that do not produce heat and fans? I have only one fan perry electricity cord
Lamps, fans … perfectly fine in a quality powerstrip that has a circuit breaker.
Lamps can be plugged into power strips. No restrictions there.
A power strip can only handle 10-15 amp max worth of appliances and still have to deliver a high load of current to power things on so this makes sense
I havre never heard that there are things you shouldn’t plug into power strips. Things like refrigerators are pretty obvious but the smaller things are not.
Thanks for the information.
So basically nothing is supposed to be plugged into a power strip I live in an old building built in 1867 yes the wiring was probably last updated in the 90’s but we only have a few outlets so toaster has no choice we have to use power strips maybe they should be improved if they aren’t sufficient never had a problem
Your situation may be unique and possibly unsafe, Lisa. Although updated wiring from the 90s (I hope that is 1990s) is not ancient. Your problem then is not enough wall outlets. That does not change anything. You are asking for trouble if you are using a toaster or any other heat producing appliance while plugged into a powerstrip. You may need to use only one items at a time, depending on the available wall outlets.
If America had 220v Standard like Europe it would be far less problematic.
False. A 1000 watt toaster in England is a 1000 watt toaster in The USA.
I believe the reference is to volts, not watts. The voltage differs:
In England (UK): standard voltage is ~230V
In the USA: standard voltage is ~120V
So a 1000-watt toaster designed for UK voltage will draw about 4.35 amps (1000 ÷ 230)
If you plug that same toaster into a 120V outlet in the U.S., it won’t work properly—or might not work at all—unless you use a voltage converter. It might try to draw more current than is safe or simply underperform.
When living in a country that is using the much more logical 220v outlets, and when using a sutable power strip, you don’t really worry about these things.
Passing 20amps into a power strip isn’t that much of a thing when you have strips that can handle sustainable 25 – 35 ampa load.
In the UK every power strip is protected by a fuse in the plug- so no matter how much daisy chaining you do, you can never exceed the rating of any part of the daisy chain, as the first fuse will blow and make it safe. So can someone explain WHY it is so dangerous?
Our heat went out over Thanksgiving. It took a week before they could come out and fix our heat. We used space heaters only in our bedrooms. Our space heaters wouldn’t allow us to plug into a power strip or extension cord for some reason. We had to plug it into a wall socket. I didn’t know that they couldn’t be plugged into a power strip (we had never used one but we did have a few in the shop for such a reason). They worked very well at keeping us warmish during 30 degree weather. We were glad we had them.
Not all space heaters have that protective feature, but it’s good. Plugging a space heater into a household power strip is just asking for a terrible outcome. There exist heavy-duty extension cords and powerstrips for use in construction. You might want to look into getting one for your emergency preparedness collection. just make sure it can plug into a 110V outlet. That’s the kicker. Most construction equipment is rated for 220V. So happy to know you were prepared.
This is blatant scare-mongering. I’ve been plugging power bars into other power bars for years, and I’ve never had a problem. My apartment has a total of FOUR electrical outlets in it. Three of them are in the kitchen. That isn’t even close to meeting my needs, so I’ve got about 20 power bars that keep me powered. I’ve been doing it for years, and I’ve never even noticed any power bars getting hot.
Really helpful as usual Mary. Thanks.
Should heating pads be included?
No, I have never seen such a precaution. Heating pads run at 115w typically, which does not draw a lot of current.
The last two times we installed microwave ovens in a kitchen we were told that it had to have its own circuit, not just its own plug! Technically that applies to countertop type installations too!
Older homes don’t even have the now required 20amp circuits in the kitchen, usually two. Older being now about 50+ years old.
The newer sewing/embroidery machines aren’t supposed to be on an extension cord nor for that matter are irons. I remember as a child my Dad always changing the iron cords to be longer, within limits, because he insisted on no extension cords!
Red … I am not certain about your assumption regarding countertop microwaves, so readers please do your own independent research on that. For sure it should not be plugged into an extension cord
Thank you so much for this article!
My husband wanted to plug one power strip into another in our home and I said NO NO NO! I didn’t have any info on WHY it isn’t safe to do so, I just know that my own father taught me that years ago.
Another item to not plug in is a laser printer. Ask me how I know. 9.2 amps (how much the printer draws every time you need to print) on a 10 amp breaker just doesn’t work.
Can a TV be plugged into a power strip?
Can I plug in an extension cord to a power strip so I can use my floor fan plus plug in my phone charger?
No Lisa, you should never plug an extension cord or power strip into another power strip or extension cord. It’s simply not safe!
This sounds reasonable, John. Just make sure you are not plugging a heat-producing appliance into this power strip (toaster, toaster oven, etc.)
So probably nobody will ever read this but speech to text makes it quick enough to do it anyways. At my shop we have a second shop and the power to that is running off of a huge extension cord I don’t know what the size is it’s as thick as my thumb are thicker so probably like six gauge. The next plug is an 8-way power switch plugged into that is a 10 socket power strip by Belkin plugged into that is a one two three four a five socket strip with two USB ports and right now I’m plugging in another power strip it’s a smart strip because in this little shop out back there’s a microwave and an air conditioner and if the both of them run together the switch in the main shop will flip on the surge protector so I need to be able to reset that remotely I hope this will do the trick but anyway fire safety fire safety fire safety whatever these things don’t even get hot and I’m in Florida.
That last sentence pretty much covers the jist of it all.
Florida is like the Outback of America
Thank you, Mary, for the helpful article, and thank you, Daniel, for the added information. Good to know!