In a bid to protect the homefront, there are certain dangerous tech gadgets that should be removed from your home.
Sadly, we are most times unaware of the dangers these gadgets pose to not just our homes but also, our health.
In this article, we will be highlighting about five of them, and it’s important that you take note of them.
Dangerous Tech Gadgets To Remove From Your Home Now
It’s important that you pay rapt attention while reading this article to take note of these gadgets, and if by chance, you have any of them in your home, please, don’t hesitate to dispose of them NOW!
1. Routers That Are Out-Of-Date
Another dangerous tech gadget to remove from your home is an outdated router as such can grant hackers access to your home or devices.
As you already know, it is your router that connects all your devices to the internet, and so using an outdated one cannot assure you of the security you need.
Having said that, go check your router, and find out if you are using the most recent security standard which is WPA-3, released back in 2018, however, if it is not WPA3 compatible, settle for WPA2-PSK AES which is a safe alternative but if it isn’t any of these, then you need another one.
Buying a router isn’t a straightforward thing to do, and that is why we have listed some of the things to check out before buying one.
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Things To Consider When Buying A New Router
Just before you purchase a new router for your home, these three points should be put into consideration, and they are:
– Your home’s square footage and layout
– The number of internet-connected devices you have.
– Your internet speed.
2. Old Power Strips Showing Wear And Tear
Old power strips such as extension or charger cords are one of the most dangerous gadgets that shouldn’t be found anywhere near our homes.
Some of them appear as rust-colored marks that you can even wipe off using your fingers
Another scenario we tend to neglect is when a power strip will short and shut off your devices, then we just ignore them without bothering to inspect the power strip for signs of damage.
If this is neglected, this can cause havoc in the home such as fire outbreak or electrocution.
3. Old phones Kept In A Drawer
You may have phones that you no longer use, and instead of getting rid of them, for some reason, you decided to tuck them away in a drawer.
Now, it’s important for you to note that such phones can catch fire as gadgets with a lithium-ion battery can easily wear out with time, and battery swelling is one of the major causes of fire outbreak.
This has been proven by Arun Maini, a YouTuber who runs a tech-related channel known as Mrwhosetheboss when he carried out research using the Samsung phone.
He gathered Samsung phones, and kept them away, and after some time, he observed that the phone’s batteries were swelling enough to break the glass and split the case.
Please, note that this is not just peculiar to Samsung phones but other phones as well.
Having said that, you must be panicking if you have such in your home.
Going forward, we will show you how to keep an old phone to ensure it doesn’t endanger the home as well as precautions to take for a phone with a swollen battery.
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How To Store An Old Phone
– Switch off your phone, and store it in a cool, moisture-free place.
– If you plan to leave it there for a long period of time, make sure that you charge the battery up to 50%. Check the battery every six months and charge it halfway.
Necessary Precautions To Take
– If you discover that you have a swollen phone, place it in a fireproof bag and contact the manufacturer. Also,ensure that you make arrangements to recycle or dispose of it appropriately.
– If the battery of your old phone is a detachable one, kindly remove it from the phone.
– Do not attempt to charge a swollen battery as such can lead to a fire outbreak.
4. Absence Of Updates
Security updates are very vital as they protect you from falling for the tricks of cybercriminals or potential hackers, and as such your smartphones, computers, security cams, smart speakers, and whatever device that is connected to your home network must be up-to-date.
Tips To Ensure That Your Home Devices Aren’t Hacked
– Ensure that you make use of complex passwords which could be a combination of alphabets and numbers so that your password can’t be easily guessed.
– Constantly check your network to see which devices are online and connected, and if you see undetected devices, take action.
– Consider setting up a different Wi-Fi network for your devices.
5. It’s Found On A Recall List
Oftentimes, we tend to neglect the list released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission which mentions dangerous items that should be removed from the home to avoid fire, injury, and even worse.
Check the list, and if you have any item that has been recalled to your home, follow the steps provided to you on what to do about them, especially as regards contacting the manufacturer.
Thankfully, you may be refunded or better still, get a replacement for a recalled product.
6. Broken Wall sockets
You don’t need a prophet to tell you the dangers that broken wall sockets pose to your home, especially if you have kids in your house.
Aside from the fire or shock accidents these sockets can cause, they have small parts such as nuts, bolts and broken pieces that can cause cuts and other injuries when handled carefully or what if a toddler picks any of these nuts and swallows them?
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Final Words
I have successfully taken you through some dangerous tech gadgets to remove from your home, and as I said earlier, it’s important that you adhere to the adage that says that prevention is better than cure.
This is to say that if you happen to have any of those in your home, do well to get rid of them now so as to keep your home safe whether you have children or not.
Are there other tech gadgets you think shouldn’t be missing from our list? Do let us know in the comment section.
