NO YOU SHOULD NOT

When you notice an appliance with a split lead there are three options:

• The stupid option – Do nothing, carry on using it and cause a potential shock and fire hazard.
• The temp fix – Use insulation tape to fix it and carry on regardless.
• The right way – Take the appliance out of action and get it professionally repaired.

Now it shouldn’t take a genius to figure out which option you should choose.

Any excessive wear and tear to an appliance cable, plug or casing is considered extremely dangerous and the effected appliance should be removed from service and repaired immediately.

As can be seen in the gallery above insulation tape will not fix the hazard, only mask the hazard. Any bare wires, broken casing or cracked plugs would potentially lead to risk of shock or fire risk if the wire, or a conductive item was touched.

In almost all cases, damaged flex can be disconnected from the appliance and refitted with a direct replacement, or one with a heavier-duty sheath.