Extension Cord Safety: The Gauge Chart, the Daisy-Chain Rules, and the 30-Second Inspection (2026)
Every fall, right around the first cold week, my phone starts ringing the same way. “The cord got warm. Is that normal?” Or: “Something melted, but nothing tripped.” Extension cords are the most-used, least-respected electrical equipment in the house. Everybody owns six. Nobody reads the label. And when one fails, it gets called “cheap” - when most of the time the real problem was the job it was asked to do.