At any moment of any day, tragedy can befall your home electronics. A pet could push your TV to the ground; a leaky roof could drip water on your precious sound system; your smart vacuum could fall down the stairs; and any number of catastrophes could occur, preventing you from enjoying your electronics and wasting your financial investment.
That’s why you need to work harder to keep your electronics safe. Here are a few tips for protecting your electronics, even when they seem safe in your home.
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Keep Cool
If you’ve ever left your smartphone in your car on a summer day, you have probably seen what happens to electronics when they get hot. At best, the electronic device needs a few hours to cool off before it will be functional again; at worst, the heat will damage the delicate components within the device, rendering it totally inoperable. Heat is worst for devices that use solid state drives, like laptops, tablet computers, smartphones and some other smart tech, but most electronic devices carry heat sensitivity warnings that you shouldn’t put to the test.
So, how do you keep your electronics safe from the heat? You should maintain a comfortable internal temperature throughout the year, using air conditioning and/or air circulating fans during the hottest months, especially in rooms with a higher number of devices. Any electronics you use outside should be brought in when temperatures rise. If you do happen to overheat a device, you should place it in the refrigerator or freezer to cool it off fast, before more damage is done.
Keep Clean
Fingerprints, food crumbs, pet hairs and other gunk don’t just look bad on your device — they also impact the device’s functionality. Dust and debris can journey deep into your electronics, wreaking havoc on the delicate components inside. For instance, dust can clog up air vents in your devices, preventing them from effectively cooling themselves and causing meltdowns. Additionally, dust often scratches surfaces meant to be smooth, like screens or motherboards. As you might expect, this isn’t ideal.
Unfortunately, you need to be careful how you clean your electronics because some cleaning methods do more harm than the dust and debris. It’s safe to say that you should never dunk your electronics in water or even spray water directly onto them. Instead, you should use a dry or slightly damp microfiber cloth to wipe down any external elements. Then, you should use a small vacuum or canned air to remove any dust or debris trapped inside a device. You should plan to clean your electronics at least once per year or more if you have a few pets.
Keep Covered
New electronics typically come with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty, which ensures that you can get your device repaired or replaced if it suffers from a factory defect. Sometimes, retailers will offer an extended warranty, giving you three to five years of extra coverage. But, what if you have older electronics you still use that have long ended their warranty period? Fortunately, you don’t have to merely hope that your electronics will continue to function; you can acquire additional warranty protection through your home warranty provider.
Also Read: 3 Smart Home Devices That Won’t Break the Bank
Home warranties keep various systems around your home safe from typical wear and tear. Whenever a covered system in your home breaks down, you call your warranty provider, who sends a qualified service professional to assess the issue.In a standard home warranty policy, you’ll find coverage for major systems like your HVAC, plumbing and electrical, but you can add coverage as necessary to suit your home. A common add-on is a home electronics warranty, which allows you to take advantage of your home warranty any time a covered electronic device malfunctions. Warranties are worthwhile investments if you have bad luck with your electronics and/or don’t want to risk having broken devices.
Keep Cased
Many electronics stay where you put them. For example, it would be odd if you transported your flat screen TV multiple times per day or if you dragged your desktop computer to a coffee shop. However, there are plenty of gadgets meant to be mobile, and you should ensure that each and every one of these devices are protected physically with a case. Cases will guard against scratches and absorb shocks incurred during transport.
The best case has a hard outer shell and some kind of soft material, like foam, inside.You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on cases for them to effectively keep your mobile devices safe. In fact, you should try to buy cases from retailers rather than manufacturers themselves, if you are looking to save a buck.
Like everything else in your home, you need to work to maintain your electronic devices if you want them to last without incurring damage. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to keep your electronics safe. With the right physical and financial protections in place, you can enjoy your devices without fear.
