There’s a reason there is a tool for almost everything under the sun. They’re handy to have when you’re trying to DIY your way through just about anything.
Some tools are less well known.
Man or woman – we need to get our hands working to fix or build things. Especially at the height of the pandemic, most of us learned to do things on our own.
Electrical wiring can be tricky.
The danger it entails can be fatal with major consequences.
In fact, 37.14% of electricity-caused injuries are through electrocution, wherein 78.06% of these are in the household.
Faulty wiring can cause house fires.
In the United States alone, 51,000 home electrical fire incidents happen in a year damaging $1.3 billion worth of property.
These numbers also resulted in almost 500 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries in a year alone.
Here’s how to avoid that statistic.
On the contrary, here’s a handy tip and life hack that you might or might not have known before.
Power outlets have two useful tools.
Yep! The YouTube video at the end of this article will show you those two tools and how to use them.
One: a stripping gauge.
At the back of your power outlet, you can see a long thin gap or hole on one of its edges.
Its purpose is simple, it shows you have long you should strip the wire for side-wiring. It’s very simple, yet very useful.
The other tool is more surprising.
Power outlets come with wire strippers.
Yes, it’s this piece of metal on one end of the outlet. It has two slots: the left one for 14-gauge and the right one for 12-gauge wires.
So, how can you use this tool? It’s simple.
After measuring the length of the wire to strip on the stripping gauge, slide the wire into the slot. Then, rotate the outlet back and forth a couple of times.
Doing so cuts through the insulation of the wire.
Push the stripper while pulling wire.
Viola! Your electrical wire is stripped and is ready for the next step.
The next step is side-wiring.
Why might one need this?
Sure, it is not your go-to tool when stripping wires. There are proper and better wire strippers out there, after all. But you’ll never know when you will need a wire stripper, and you don’t have one at your disposal.
Check out this nifty hack in the video below!
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