Tips to ensure safety of home appliances

Can you imagine a day without the use of home appliances particularly for Filipinos in the urban areas?

The use of electrical machines has become so common that most of us are dependent on them because they make our lives more comfortable and daily chores easier to do.

These electrical appliances are widely used in homes, schools, offices, and business establishments. The relevance of their safety and performance is therefore high to ensure that consumers get their moneys worth.

In purchasing reliable and safe home appliances, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) advises consumers to check on proper labels, ensure that there is an instruction manual or installation guide included in the product, and always ask for an official receipt. Particularly for refrigerators and room air conditioners, the DTI urges consumers to scrutinize their energy labels that specify the appropriate Energy Efficiency Factor (EEF) and the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER).

The energy labels as a guide for consumer say that a higher EEF of a room air-conditioner means lower operating cost while a higher EER of a refrigerator means a lower electricity cost.

The DTI also enjoins consumers to read instructions for the proper use of products to avoid accidents such as fire and electrocution. Instruction/product manuals provide setup and installation information; warranty and servicing details; power requirements and energy information; included and optional accessories; parts list; product limitations; performance; special features; and recommended maintenance and troubleshooting. With this information, consumers can be guided on how to get the most out of any appliance; know how and what to do in case it malfunctions; and maintain an appliances optimum performance for the duration of its expected lifecycle.

Moreover, since product warranty provisions are included in the instruction/product manuals, consumers are able to know their rights in case the appliance sold to them turned out to be defective.

As one of the lead offices in empowering consumers based on the Republic Act 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, the DTI upholds the rights and responsibilities of consumers drawing on the vigilance and involvement of the buying population.

The second among the eight consumer rights is the right to safety, which says that a consumer shall be protected against the marketing of goods or the provision of services that are hazardous to life and health.

Through R. A. 4109 or the Standards Law, the DTIs Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) requires manufacturers and importers of critical products under its list of Philippine National Standards (PNS) for mandatory certification to secure the Philippine Standard (PS) license or the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) certificate prior to distribution and sale in the market.

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Tips to ensure safety of home appliances