Powerful appliances should never be plugged into a power strip and you might be surprised which appliances count.
1. Space heater.
Portable heaters cycle on and off, with each on-cycle drawing a surge of current. If plugged into a power strip, this surge is usually causes an overload, which can cause a fire.
2. Microwave.
Requires a dedicated wall outlet.
3. Slow cooker.
These common appliances may not draw surges of power, but they use power continuously over long periods. Plug them into wall outlets instead.
4. Toaster and toaster oven.
Those red-hot coils inside don't heat up without a lot of current, which can quickly overload a power strip.
5. Hairdryer, curling iron.
These draw significant amperage to get hot — too much for a power strip.
6. Coffee maker.
All it does is heat up water. But it does it with a lot of amps. It is misleadingly simple. Always plug into the wall.
