A study by Electrical Safety Council (ESC) has found that DIYers from across the UK are risking their lives and facing costly repairs by 'having a go' at tasks best left to the professionals.
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The UK charity found that half of all serious electric shocks are caused by DIY mistakes and people taking on what they think are simple jobs instead of calling in someone qualified.
Electricians say they are spending an increasing amount of time repairing such blunders and are concerned that ‘Dive-in DIYers’ are endangering themselves and their families.
Not only is this a serious concern but 82% of electricians say that dodgy DIY attempts cost more in the long run to call someone in and fix the mistake.
People who participated in the survey confessed to such errors as cutting through power leads, drilling into wiring in walls and repairing electrical items that are still switched on.
With this, one in five people with no electrical training say they are confident enough to do jobs such as new lights in their homes and worryingly one in ten say they'd happily install new wiring.
Half of the the people surveyed said that they take advice from friends and family as well as getting tips from Google and using online video tutorials with two fifths of people admitting to this to help explain how to do certain DIY work.
Half of men, in particular, would take on a job themselves or ask a mate before going to an expert as two fifths of them feel responsible to do electrical and DIY job.
The ESC asked 2,000 electricians for their experiences and found a third of them are now spending up to a quarter of their time fixing botched DIY, with half of those surveyed saying this has increased over the last five years and that the majority of these call-outs are to fix simple jobs that have gone badly wrong
Phil Buckle, Director General of the Electrical Safety Council, said: “As budgets continue to be stretched, many people will look for the easy solution but we have found this can often be more costly in the long term and can also pose severe risks.
"There is a lot of good advice out there on how to go about tasks safely but you must make sure the advice you take is reputable. For the small tasks that you are not sure of and for all the major jobs, my message is DIY – Don’t Do It Yourself – get a professional in. You can find a registered electrician in your area by searching the Electrical Safety Register.”
Andy Kane – a.k.a Handy Andy – is supporting the ESC’s call for safety. He said: “I’m well known for my DIY skills and love getting stuck into a good project. But when it comes to electrical DIY I always get professional advice and help.
"I don’t think it’s unmanly to want peace of mind for yourself and your family. Even when you are carrying out simple DIY jobs like putting up pictures, it’s important to be aware of the potential danger electricity presents in the home.”
For those who are unsure about how to do electrical DIY, the ESC advises they get professional advice. Tips and guidance from ESC can be found at www.esc.org.uk/DIY and anyone can find a registered electrician local to them by searching the Electrical Safety Register at www.electricalsafetyregister.com. The Register contains details of over 34,000 contractors based throughout the UK, including Northern Ireland and gives you the peace of mind that you are using a competent and trusted professional.