4: Plug sockets

FIRST - There is a BIG safety disclaimer with this one. Make sure your equipment is up to scratch and if in doubt, ignore this hack. I am not an electrician or a firefighter. I am somebody who can't pull plugs out of the wall and wants to be able to. I am not responsible for any damage that you may have if you decide to use this hack, even if you follow the suggestions to the letter. It is up to you to decide if you need to do this and if you want to take the slightly enhanced fire risk. Look after your equipment and be aware and you shouldn't have problems - but if you do, it's not my fault!

So, another grip-related one. Some plugs are easier to pull out of the wall than others. The problem can be resolved by simple application of electrical tape (a roll of which will set you back a couple of pounds). However, there are downsides to this problem - there is a slightly enhanced fire risk (although this is minimal) and it may invalidate your insurance for the product in question. However, personally I think that I'd rather be able to get my plugs out of the wall than not (some manufacturers' plugs are simply impossible) and if you're not silly about it it should be perfectly safe. Just remember that plugs are not there to be decorated, and the purpose of this is purely to add practical value rather than decoration. Don't go overboard on the tape!

Plug with tape and without

I have found this to be a really useful hack but before you do anything please read the disclaimer below and if you're worried, find another way!

<<DISCLAIMER - READ ME!!!>>
The main advice with any kind of alteration to an electrical product is that if you tamper with it (e.g. by putting tape on it) you are making it work in a way for which it is not designed, so you can't complain if it malfunctions in any way. There is a chance that the plug will get hotter and may malfunction/cause a fire. Don't be ridiculous and it shouldn't be a problem. If you're worried, don't do it.

To keep it safe, do NOT wrap the entire plug in tape. The less tape you use, the better. Tape wrapped round the plug makes it heat up, which can cause fires. The only bit of tape in this hack which is in contact with the plug for any considerable distance is a little bit on the back, which should be a single layer.

Do NOT get tape on the pins.

Do NOT put on so much tape that it is too thick to allow the plug to sit flush to the wall/socket.

Do NOT use this technique on any plug that was not made by the manufacturers of the electrical object with which it is associated (i.e. if it's a charger, only use the plug that came with your device). The reason for this is that many plugs sold unbranded are not as high quality (read this). I have had one plug which I bought cheaply from the internet which had no tape on but which burnt out in normal use - not causing a fire, but only because I noticed the smell in time to turn off the switch then prise it out of the wall. The plug itself was badly scorched on the outside and destroyed inside. Just don't risk it!

DO check the plug regularly (including during use - test how hot it feels) and if it's over-heating or showing signs of wear and tear take the tape off and replace it!

DO remember that if you put tape on the plug that may invalidate insurance of the plug.
<<END OF DISCLAIMER>>

Given the warnings above, this is only worth doing if you have a plug which you need to move on a regular basis and that you really cannot get out of a socket by yourself. If you're worried, you can take the plug apart and put a new casing on it (though this would also remove any obligation from the manufacturers).

The only plug I have used tape on is for my laptop charger - if I go away (e.g. on a conference) I need to be able to take my laptop and charger with me, and it doesn't look good if I'm asking other people to take the plug out of the wall for me. All my other plugs are OK so I have left them as they are.

If you're worried about fire risk, please read this report, and be reassured that only excessive insulation of the plug is likely to cause a fire with a properly-working plug - so don't be excessive with the tape!


Right...here's what to do.

Take the offending plug and measure out a strip of electrical tape about 20cm/8 inches long. If it's too wide to fit cleanly between the pins, cut it down to size, then lay it across the plug as shown below (the plug doesn't have to be exactly halfway along). Electrical tape is pretty strong so you can make it thinner if you want to make it safer in terms of plug overheating.

Take the two ends and curl them up behind the plug to make a strap which you can comfortably fit two or three fingers into.

Snip off/fold over any loose bits of tape.

Measure the length of the loop, using some string or another piece of tape cut to size (I used the off-cut from trimming down the width of my long piece).

 

Cut another piece of tape - this is for the inside of your loop, so that you don't have sticky tape on the inside.


You can either cut a piece which is just shorter than the outside of the loop (so, in the example above, just under 7cm) or one which is about two centimetres longer (i.e. 9cm). If you go for the longer length, you can fold the end down to create a more secure base on the plug. However, this is really fiddly and it took me a long time to make my hands co-operate enough to get it stuck down securely!

If you cut down your first long strip to make it narrow enough to pass through the pins, you can now fold the sides of this inside-loop strip over so that there are no sticky edges anywhere.

Your plug is now ready to go! 

If you want, you can put another loop of tape around the whole thing to make it more secure. However, my belief is that the less tape there is, the better, as minimising the amount of tape will minimise the possibility of the plug over-heating.