No, except the toaster. The microwave is built in. No way am I gonna drag that out and unplug it. I don't unplug the coffeeemaker either.

no, and I'm not going to start now

Anything that has a heating element, gets unplugged.

For me, unplugging my electric stove would be a major undertaking. As would my larger microwave where the plug is actually behind it.

I'm not an electrician or an electrical engineer. Power surges in the supply system are rare and lightning is close to non-existent where I live. What I do have is decades of experience and paying attention to credible information and suggestions that affect home ownership and safety.

If your appliances are newish, kept clean and in good repair, there should be little or no risk of their getting energized when off.

To the contrary, what can cause a fire risk is old or broken sockets that don't make solid contact with inserted prongs. If you have sockets that don't hang onto plugs tightly, replace them. Plugging and unplugging connections on a daily basis will loosen them, a reason to not do that.

Having sockets in the kitchen that aren't on ground fault circuits is also dangerous. Having ungrounded sockets and using the dangerous adaptors that allow connecting a three-prong plug into a two-prong socket should be avoided - electrical devices are grounded for a reason.

Some people will swap out a two prong socket for a three prong one without doing the necessary grounding connection.

There are cheap devices you can buy that will check whether wall receptacles are properly wired. If any of the work was done by a DIY person or a sloppy pro, you can bet that wiring is off and potentially dangerous. One relatively inexpensive device I just found online ( I have one) checks for:

" Correct Wiring; Hot/Ground Reverse; Hot/Neutral Reverse (Reverse Polarity); Open Ground; Open Hot; Open Neutral "

Edit to add an answer to the question - No, I don't. For the advice I've learned described above that I follow.

So I don't unplug my stove. I thought the thread was about small appliances 😉

My entire house has a trip on the electrical box. Electrician installed it last year.

To each their own

Only when we travel

I have never unplugged anything in my house ever. Never had a fire or anything happen. We lose power during storms occasionally and I have never had an electrical problem when it comes back on.

That said, I do now unplug the charger for the battery for my lawnmower. I am just following manufacturers instructions. Unlike my battery powered blower and trimmer. That battery stays on the charger unless I am using it.

But for regular household appliances, no. They stay on all the time.

Only small appliances are toaster and kettle. We unplug them with each use just because we have plug molding under the cabinets and they look like rat tails dangling down.

No!

Not a small appliance but we pull the breaker on our heated bathroom floor in the summer because if we have an outage it always turns itself on again when the power returns

No.

Except for the toaster. It gets put away after we use it.

eta And appliances that are kept in the pantry.

Nope - only the small appliances that live in cupboards (rather than the countertop).

I have a defective electric tea kettle that doesn’t always shut off as it should. I’m not quite sure what happens, but while the light is off, I may come back days or weeks later and find it quite warm to the touch. I should probably unplug that.

Yes. However, our small kitchen appliances are all stored in the island cabinets when not in use. I just prefer them out of sight. Microwave’s built in so it stays plugged in.

👍🏻Better safe than sorry, FOAS.

Or buy a new one.

I leave my outdoor Christmas tree lights plugged in, day and night, 7 months of the year.

I have a bench with two planters on the sides. Five months of the year, there are live potted plants in them. Seven months of the year, Christmas trees with lights. I never unplug them, even when we go away on vacation. Same lights for twenty years.

They can’t be seen by anyone unless you are in the front yard.

The only small appliance we keep out is our coffee maker, and yes, we unplug it every morning after we’re done with it.

" My entire house has a trip on the electrical box. "

That's likely a whole-house surge protector. That does nothing at all for mis-wired receptables, loose wiring connections, worn out pinchers in sockets. All of which are most likely to be found in older houses.

Power to an electric cooking appliance (range or oven) can be turned off by flipping the circuit breaker. That's another thing you don't want to do daily. They're not made for frequent use and can also wear out.

It's devastating that my comments aren't valued by some. Irrelevant to me and silly, they are worthwhile.

" It's devastating that my comments aren't valued by some. "

Seriously?

They used to say a major cause of kitchen fires was coffee makers. I dont know if that is still true.

Food, get rid of the electric kettle.

The only appliance I unplug when not in use is a space heater. Toaster oven, coffee maker and microwave stay plugged in. I can't imagine having to reset a microwave everytime I wanted to use it.

Microwave and toaster oven stay plugged in - unless I need to use the outlet - and honestly, I'd never thought about it before now. Everything else is only plugged in when being used - including the electric kettle 😏

I live in Australia, where the actual wall outlets have on/ off switches, so I don't unplug, I just turn the individual outlets to off - I don't bother with the microwave or coffee grinder but do turn off the switches for the kettle, air fryer, espresso machine and toaster. And if I'm going on vacation, I turn off pretty much everything except major appliances (i.e. tv, pc, sound systems, etc).

We unplug small appliances in the kitchen. Not the microwave though. They are made to leave plugged in as they have a clock on them. I wouldn't be able to reach the plug anyway, behind the microwave.

The only small appliances that sit out on the counter are the ricemaker and the coffeemaker; everything else is unplugged and put away in the cabinet. The ricemaker is always unplugged (cord self-stores), but I lost the coffeemaker unplugging battle -- it's DH's machine and he wants it left plugged in. I have unplugged it when we go away for vacation, though.

The microwave is under the counter and like mentioned above is meant to be left plugged in.

Like jmm in Oz all our sockets have switches so unplugging is unnecessary. The kettle and toaster are the only permanently out small appliances. They're never unplugged.

Agree that food should ditch that kettle. It should never be warm when not in use.

"We lose power during storms occasionally and I have never had an electrical problem when it comes back on."

You've been lucky so far. A whole-house surge protector can save your appliances. I'm not concerned about the toaster and the coffee-maker, here -- if a large enough surge hits after the power returns or due to some other issue, the electrical components in your fridge, stove, washer/dryer, computer, etc can fry to a crisp = $$$$$

A whole-house surge protector is not too terribly expensive to have installed. Think of it as you would any insurance policy -- you hope you never need it but you're awfully thankful you have it if you do.

lonejack - check with toronto vet.

porkchop, I've read there are many instances when whole house surge protectors fail to do their intended jobs.

It's a high margin, fear-induced easy sale for electricians and it seems many who do the work really don't understand which products can be effective and which not. Caution and advance info gathering are warranted.

"I've read there are many instances when whole house surge protectors fail to do their intended jobs."

Not having one offers zero protection.

Information gathering to make an informed decision (appropriate sizing, reputable installer, etc) is always a good idea.

" Not having one offers zero protection. "

The same is true for having the wrong one or one with inadequate specs.

"The same is true for having the wrong one or one with inadequate specs."

Agree. However, that is the not the fault of the unit, it is the result of not making the correct choice for the situation. I think we can both agree on that, and that it is always a good idea to gather information to make an informed decision.

I stand by my view that one should have a whole-house surge protector (correctly sized and correctly installed up to code) and that the cost is minimal in comparison to the expense of replacing major appliances/electronics.

Back to the countertop appliance question: I once worked with a woman who told me a friend of hers left the Keurig plugged in and went to work for the day, only to return to a pile of rubble -- the house burned down and the fire was blamed on the coffeemaker. (no I don't have the details and yes I know it's anecdotal)

Small appliances can cause the house to burn down if they're faulty or are so old that modern safeguards were not built in to it. (Wasn't there a season finale of a TV show where a slow cooker caused a major house fire?)

I once lived in an area where the power invariably failed during rainstorms. The resultant surge when power was restored destroyed two microwaves and a television. When I complained to the power company, they told me I should unplug all electronics when the power failed to avoid surge-related damage. I asked them how I was supposed to unplug built-in appliances like microwaves and refrigerators or unplug anything if I wasn't home when the power failed. Of course, they had no answer for either of those questions.

I don't know if a whole house surge protector was available back then, but it would have saved me some grief had it been available and had it protected my appliances.

In my post, "they" was consumer reports back when that meant something. These small electronics are put together by people who just soder some spot or other. So it was statistically a point of issue. I once saw a y-tube of some guy whose air fryer burst into flames spontaneously. If pulling the plug on these small cheesy appliances saves your home is that an issue? Things like microwaves are built to a higher standard with more fail safes. Stoves and cooktops even more so. They throw the breaker if they go wrong.

The only time I've had a power surge that blew out anything was when I had lightning hit close to my house. One TV and a tree was all I lost.

The surge protector was installed when the brand new HVAC system was installed. I'm not sure anybody can decide if I have the appropriate one without being at my house. Not that that's an invitation😉 He also added a filtered HVAC unit (that is, at the source), along with the air filter that goes upstairs. I love the double filters. I'm pretty sure he just covered all the bases. I'll take it!

Unplug away if it makes you feel better. I don't have the time for such unsubstantiated silliness. The way ya all are going on, I would expect to nightly see houses ablaze. Fact is never ever never have I. Ughhh

" such unsubstantiated silliness. "

It is not unsubstantiated, or silliness. It is, however, exceedingly rare. I understand those who don't unplug small appliances, including myself, but I don't think telling people that the fire risk is unsubstantiated is fair or truthful.

"I would expect to nightly see houses ablaze. Fact is never ever never have I."

Pretending that nothing exists if you haven't seen it is wilful blindness.

Nope Never. I've also never read/watched a real news story on an incident concerning small appliances malfunctioning because they were left plugged in. If they 'explode' or whatever you think could happen it's not because they were left plugged in. A better question might be do you notice when your small appliances have frayed cords or lose wiring. Sorry fearmongers you just can't prove this one. No matter how many old wives tales you trot out.

" I'm not sure anybody can decide if I have the appropriate one without being at my house. "

I agree with you. Include yourself in the group.

I only unplug the small appliances that have high risk of fire if they fail: electric kettle, countertop oven/air fryer, rice cooker, slow cookers, blender.

" If they 'explode' or whatever you think could happen it's not because they were left plugged in. "

Keeping the appliance plugged in doesn't cause the malfunction, but it allows the malfunction to cause a fire or explosion, etc. If an appliance malfunctions but it's got no power, it won't overheat and cause a fire. For instance, there was a toaster where the heating elements stayed on, even after the toast popped up - if it was unplugged, it wouldn't cause a fire because it wouldn't still be on.

(for "proof", look for reports of small appliance recalls due to fire risk, because most of those start because someone had a fire.)

"I've also never read/watched a real news story on an incident concerning small appliances malfunctioning because they were left plugged in. "

See https://www.classaction.org/cuisinart-toaster-tob-models-lawsuit

"This Alert Affects:Anyone who purchased a Cuisinart TOB-40 toaster oven and experienced issues with the product turning on by itself or failing to shut off. Some consumers may have also had problems with the temperature getting stuck on high, potentially causing the glass front door to shatter due to the heat."

I don't regularly unplug things, tho I do remove the carafe from the electric kettle off the base when not in use - more as a precaution of it not shutting off and boiling dry. The only other appliances on my counter are my Cuisinart and a tiny air fryer. I don't unplug either, but do keep the air fryer basket disengaged a little, so it doesn't turn on that way.

" "This Alert Affects:Anyone who purchased a Cuisinart TOB-40 toaster oven and experienced issues with the product........"

This link is not to a "real news story" in the sense that arcy mentioned above and was quoted as saying. Another case perhaps of a word search match without assessing the veracity and bona fides of the site the search found.

The link goes to the website of attorneys who do plaintiff class action lawsuits. One of many undertakings of the kind of lawyers known as "ambulance chasers" who work on a contingent fee basis. Many such lawsuits are filed, hoping to be settled before trial for nuisance value. Such lawyers choose which actions to pursue based on their assessments of opportunity of payoff FOR THEMSELVES, not as arbiters of truth or injury.

We actually had our electric oven have a thermostat fail and it over heated. It chared the Thanksgiving Turkey and If I hadn't had the wit to throw the breaker on the oven circuit lord knows what would have happened. It can happen. It is not a myth that equipment with heating unites can fail. In our case we could not turn the oven off with the electronics. I Keep our present oven on lock so it cant turn on. I never leave appliances on when I leave home.

4 cupper coffe maker and food processer unplugged unless in use.

oversized toaster oven, dehumidifier, dustbuster, stereos with turntables, TVs, desktop computers plus printers always plugged in.