Thanks for the reminder. I never shut down my laptop and will leave it on the table overnight. We both leave them charging sometimes - at night, not leaving the house. Spring forward/Fall back = change smoke alarm batteries. Make sure you have a working fire extinguisher - they expire.

DD2 leaves her phone charging cord plugged in, after removing phone and when leaving the house. Drives me insane, so when I'm taking DGS to school, I always make sure it's unplugged.

I copy/pasted your post and emailed to both of our DDs.

educate yourself about using off brand batteries

I'd bet money that this was involved in that fire. Even for phones and cameras, buying off-brand batteries is taking an awful risk. I know several people who've lost cameras when their "great price" batteries blew.

I keep my macbook pro in a book arc, which makes sure that it has ventilation on all sides for cooling while it's running.

Yes, thank you! I too am guilty of just closing the lid on my laptop rather than power it off. I also leave it on the charger all the time, though I recently got in the habit of unplugging the charger if I leave the house (a storm prompted that).

Also something a friend shared with me. Loose 9 volt batteries kicking around in a junk drawer or stored together can ignite if the ends touch the right object (including another 9v). We immediately put electrical tape over the terminals of all those we have stored in the garage for a recycle drop off. Here is a video about that: 9 Volt Battery Fires

Another thing to keep in mind with computer batteries is that you will prolong their life if you actually let them do the work they were intended to do and not keep the laptop plugged in making the battery nothing more than a power conduit. Get into the habit of unplugging the laptop and only charging it when it needs to be. If your battery is so weak that you need to keep it plugged in for your laptop to work you NEED a new battery.

That's a bit out of date, Holly-Kay. It's really not necessary to cycle newer batteries. My macbook is a 2011 model that lives on the charger all the time because I use a large external monitor, but the battery life when I travel with it is just as good now as it was when it was new. In the past it was necessary to do that to avoid battery memory problems, but not for the past few years.

Lithium batteries don't develop memory problems but I sold laptop batteries for many years and the literature always stressed to allow the battery to do it's job and not just let it plugged in. I think this article explains it better than I can. http://www.wired.com/2013/09/laptop-battery/

Thanks, but I can't read the article beyond the first two paragraphs without signing up for an account. I'll just stick to what the manufacturer says, which is what I've been doing and having gotten five years so far with no problems, I suspect that whatever the rest of the article said was true, but not that relevant, (Give up using an external monitor for an additional year or so of battery life--no, thanks.)

I have had my lap top for about 5 years, charge it only when it signals me that the charge is low, which is getting more and more frequent, as it isnt holding the charge for 8 hours like it used to when it was new. I think I need a new battery.

I use mine mostly on battery. I always shut it off if not in use.

Moonshadow, thank you for that link about 9v batteries! Sheesh, what else don't I know that could kill me or create a catastrophe???????

The loose batteries in checked baggage is a real concern for airlines. They provide warnings on their website, but how many people protect the battery terminals?

Another who never leaves my laptop charging overnight and definitely not when we're not at home. I always shut down.

It is a known issue with MacBook batteries going bad. They swell up and bulge out. Both my sister and DH had that happen to theirs ... different models bought at different times. Sometimes Apple will replace under warranty and sometimes they won't.

Chispa, do you have a link for more info on MacBook batteries? My MacBook Pro is 9 years old. I power off when leaving the house and always overnight, but never unplug unless there's an electrical storm nearby.

Chispa, I just learned about the swelling and ruining of the Macbook issue, but the good news is that that is apparently a safety feature as the battery failure is contained by the laptop; with the others, they can apparently explode all over a room and set the house afire. I can't be replacing my Macbook at this time, so I really need to get my ancient battery replaced! Tina, from now on, I will always shut down when I'm not home, and will never leave it plugged in overnight or when I'm not home, either! I'm still kinda shocked at how careless I've been and how fortunate that I didn't create a disaster through my ignorance.