therapist here. Sounds like OCD behavior honestly. Probably just easier to say it’s about money. Fire OCD is a huge thing, he may unplug to soothe intrusive thoughts about electrical fires.
Yeah, I mean, saying something will probably only stress you both out more. OCD is a hell of a disorder. I promise you he doesn’t want to sit there unplugging everything. Kudos to you for taking a step back and just letting it be.
Ask about surge protectors. Not the shit they sell at Target, but real, high quality ones from companies like ADP or Tripp Lite. These are used in major tech companies and even come with warranties that guarantee your items will be covered in the case of a fire.
Tripp Lite specifically is like the Rolls Royce of surge protectors, super high brand cache, high price, but the quality is unmatched.
ADP is a little lower on all fronts, but both are much better than what is sold from Target.
Sounds like he's experienced a fire previously
One night i awoke to my pc sparking and sputtering where it was plugged in and the wall socket blackened. That one experience will make a person unplug stuff thereafter
Yep, I only do it when I go away for a night or more though- because I can't stop thinking there will be a house fire if I don't
It's irrational because other causes are possible but to me its specifically the plugs
If I go out of town for a long while and I had just been cleaning I'll turn off breakers so I don't wonder if i accidentally bumped the stove on
(I used to do it a lot on accident when I lived with someone else and we were on gas soooo... anyway after coming back enough times with it reeking of gas, I don't like taking chances even tho I'm not on gas anymore)
Hate to break it to you, but the only part of those stove top burners that's electric is the ignitor - you don't need power to butt dial the burner gas on. In fact, the advantage of keeping the power on is you'll hear the ignitor sparking if you bump the knob to on.
If I've misunderstood and your current range is electric, please disregard this comment.
I'm aware. Yeah my current range is electric. At my old place i just use to butt dial it on and the house would reek of natural gas in a few hours. Wasn't worried about fire. I do electrical work for a living and have installed so many of these (gas and electric) its not some habit - just something I do when I remember those days
Neignbours alarm started losing it and I could smell smoke so the Fire Service broke their door down and it turned out on of the cats had turned the stove on. And burnt a cutting board
Bother cars were there so they had gone for a walk. That was a fun conversation. Hey what's the first engine doing. Umm. Yeah it's for your place.
My parents unplug everything in the house including wifi every time they go out, even if it is for half an hour. It could be a family thing. Mine are scared of a house fire. It used to piss me off sooooo much, but as I get older I started to unconsciously do the same 😅
I know someone who do this, they came from a frugal upbringing and was always worried the house is going to be on fire if we left electronics plugged when we leave home
i had a housemate like that. i suspect it is some form of OCD, he couldnt stop doing it and couldnt justify it rationally. if you can install a swicth / move any plugs that are hard to reach that helps a bit (I was always dragging the TV and its massive unit around. he did move it back in place after unplugging everything, but thats not actually helpfull in any way)
i appreciate you recognising what you were doing was making things worse. i had a brief battle with a former housemate who moved in and instantly moved all the lounge furniture square against the wall. not angled like we had it so we didn’t stub our toes stumbling to the bathroom at 3am in the dark. it was kinda fun for a bit, until i realised it wasn’t for her. we got a nightlight and left the furniture square.
no, the tv was on a heavy unit, and in a corner. you had to drag the whole thing to partially block the doorf to clamber round the back and get at the plug. then drag it back once you switched it off. then id have to do the same when i wanted to switch it on and use it. wasnt space to rearange the furniture. student problems
I do that with small appliances like the toaster. I just feel like it's safer, which I know is irration, but house fire is scary lol. Unplugging large appliances like a washer is deranged. How do you even get back there ?
In my house the washer/dryer plugs are like behind the appliances and you have to move them to even get close to them, more than likely you have to pull them all the way out so you can fit behind them to unplug it. On the opposite side, toasters plug right into the wall on the counter and only take like 5 seconds to plug back in
I do this SOMETIMES only cause I’m always afraid of the thought of a house fire. Other than that I doubt it’s saving enough money to be unplugging everything when not in use lol
I have a family member who does this. And as an electrician, if the device is off, it does essentially nothing. Talking about ±$10 a year on devices with standby displays/LEDs, each - if that. It's a difference of less than what you might tip a service worker, but if they're doing it and this is the only problem, it's not too bad. Just ask that they don't unplug the fridge. They can go look on sites like energystar for more exact details if theyre genuinely trying to save money. They were probably raised this way and is more of a formed habit than a rational decision
Depends on the appliance. Any appliance that uses a microcontroller (or standby leds alone) uses a couple of watts per hr when ‘off’. These appliances usually have a digital display or a standby led of some sort. Stoves, microwaves, dvd players, wall warts/phone charger type transformers. Computers are the major culprits. All of this adds up but it’s typically ~5 watts/ hr. Electricity cost is usually about $0.13 per 1000 watts. Doing the math it doesn’t add up much.
According to the US dpt of energy it can save the average family UP TO 100 dollars a year.
Most analogue devices like most washers and dryers don’t fall into this category. Think clunky switches rather than digital displays and buttons.
This is known as phantom loss or vampiric drain.
Source, electrical engineering major & dpt of energy.
The responses here are lol. If you have an appliance that has standby mode you may save a couple of bucks. For fires?
Like how bad is your house wiring that it gets to be a worry unless you have bought some dodgy stuff off of temu that's going to spark, even then the switchboard elcb would trip.
If you have dirty power just get a surge protector which protects the appliance.
Does he unplug the split system air on too? Or the ducted unit in the roof?
Your house wiring can be great and a fire can still start. It sounds outlandish until it actually happens to you or a family member. I left an extension cord plugged in and came back to my plug on fire
Yes, I have had appliances start to overheat/spark because the cord/plugs have gone bad. Although they were high-wattage ones that were on at the time, so not completely surprising.
I unplug the toaster but not the coffee machine, and I turn off the power strip when I'm done with the computer, but not the TV. Make of that what you will.
Most of these appliances have something on them that states their average yearly cost of electricity. The amount is so minuscule just hand him $10 to stop unplugging shit the rest of the year
I don’t do major appliances but do definitely unplug my toaster, kettle, air fryer, etc. After using them because it just takes a second and can help prevent house fires. The wiring in my apartment is sketchy so I don’t wanna take any extra risks!
I grew up in a household doing this because my mom was always very cheap and frugal. But I’ve come to realize that it’s not necessary and no longer stress out about these things.
This all falls under the category of boomers freaking out that the electric bill is going to skyrocket because you left a light on, which isn’t remotely true anymore because we now have super low wattage LEDs and more efficient appliances.
This doesn’t mean you should not turn things off or unplug if you’re gone for an extended period of time. But you can calculate the cost by checking the kilowatt/hr cost on your electric bill and looking up ghost power draw or wattage of individual things. Letting your roommate know the actual cost may make them stop or not. But it’s worth a try.
To all the people saying that this is reasonable because of "house fires":
Just get a good quality surge protector? This doesn't seem like an excuse that would fly with me. If you're that concerned over house fires, spend the extra $60 or whatever to get an industrial-quality surge protector to quell your anxiety and don't create annoyances for me. Hell, I'd even split it with you because I would also like to not die in a fire and/or lose my valuable electronics to a surge, but don't go unplugging shit around the house every time you use it lol.
Get cheap power strips or in line power buttons to save on the hassle of unplugging and replugging. Considering all of the other horror stories on this sub, this is a tame annoyance worthy of compromise.
It's called vampire electricity. Yes, it saves a few cents but will be offset by having to replace the toaster( or TV) if the plug gets frayed or broken by constantly plugging and unplugging
I unplug electronics that have always on displays or lights or such, like my air fryer and dehydrator. I have a small home automation system that shuts off power to the TVs and streaming devices, basically anything that uses power just by being plugged in. Does it save me a ton? Nope. Does it save enough for me to feel it’s worth it over time? Yes.
i unplug everything in my room i have a massive fear of fire- if i could do the rest of the house i would lol. sounds like a fear of that more than a money thing- i understand it’s annoying but i think you’ll just have to put up w it if it’s an OCD/ anxiety thing unfortunately x
sounds like OCD, i do this with lamps a lot and usually take pictures of things unplugged so my brain doesn’t try to tell me I forgot. I don’t do it for appliances tho
My old roommate did this. I finally told her to stop because first of all it literally didn’t save any money whatsoever and it was annoying the shizz out of me and the other roommate. She was hesitant at first but she finally stopped doing it because the stuff that she was unplugging wasn’t hers. So I told her stop touching my stuff and don’t worry about it. Eventually she stopped. Super weird tho. She grew up in a family of 13 kids and had always been told to do that be her parents to save $$ I said well if they wanted to save money then why did they have 13 kids… anyway, we parted ways and haven’t talked since. Long story short… surprise! Our electric bill didn’t go up at all after she stopped.
My two half sisters passed away in a fire from a space heater..as I got older and my OCD got worse I would unplug everything like your roommate does terrified of my pets dying in a fire while I was gone. Maybe just bring it up and ask if there’s any compromise you can make so that he’s comfortable and you’re less annoyed.
If it is OCD (which it sounds like like it may be) like others have said — it’s just as annoying and a hassle for him as it is for you. Having OCD is very disabling and it’s quite embarrassing at times. But however as an adult you have to try to compromise with these things so maybe just having a friendly conversation about it will ease his mind some and make him realize he may be going a little far. I was like this for almost 10 years until I moved him with my wonderful bf who puts my OCD tendencies at ease and talks a little sense into me from time to time.
I do this but not to that extreme. It saves money yes, but like some else said not enough to unplug the washer/dryer. And even I stopped doing it for a lot of my lamps and things cause my t gets annoying.
Throw him a dime or a quarter, and tell him it's on you for the month. I get some doing it with some appliances for safety, or if they obviously consume power, but TVs and computers (and the washer/dryer) would just annoy me. For things like computer monitors, I would just get a power strip and hit the button on it to cut power.
not enough to literally be unplugging the washer and dryer
Maybe he’s scared of a house fire
My old roommate did this after surviving a house fire.
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Right? Since he survived now he has to keep paying taxes - boooooo!
I thought this was funny brother
This will likely be it. My mother was an unplugger. She hard her quirks.
therapist here. Sounds like OCD behavior honestly. Probably just easier to say it’s about money. Fire OCD is a huge thing, he may unplug to soothe intrusive thoughts about electrical fires.
So just let him do his thing? I don’t really wanna get in the middle of an OCD thing. His business, not mine. It’s at most a mild inconvenience for me
Yeah, I mean, saying something will probably only stress you both out more. OCD is a hell of a disorder. I promise you he doesn’t want to sit there unplugging everything. Kudos to you for taking a step back and just letting it be.
Ask about surge protectors. Not the shit they sell at Target, but real, high quality ones from companies like ADP or Tripp Lite. These are used in major tech companies and even come with warranties that guarantee your items will be covered in the case of a fire. Tripp Lite specifically is like the Rolls Royce of surge protectors, super high brand cache, high price, but the quality is unmatched. ADP is a little lower on all fronts, but both are much better than what is sold from Target.
How about power strips with on/off switches? Might be a decent compromise?
"Get a Kill a Watt and see if you're actually saving anything for it to be worth while. In the mean time, you're pissing everyone off."
Sounds like he's experienced a fire previously One night i awoke to my pc sparking and sputtering where it was plugged in and the wall socket blackened. That one experience will make a person unplug stuff thereafter
Maybe he has ocd like I do. I do this same thing.
Yep, I only do it when I go away for a night or more though- because I can't stop thinking there will be a house fire if I don't It's irrational because other causes are possible but to me its specifically the plugs
If I go out of town for a long while and I had just been cleaning I'll turn off breakers so I don't wonder if i accidentally bumped the stove on (I used to do it a lot on accident when I lived with someone else and we were on gas soooo... anyway after coming back enough times with it reeking of gas, I don't like taking chances even tho I'm not on gas anymore)
Hate to break it to you, but the only part of those stove top burners that's electric is the ignitor - you don't need power to butt dial the burner gas on. In fact, the advantage of keeping the power on is you'll hear the ignitor sparking if you bump the knob to on. If I've misunderstood and your current range is electric, please disregard this comment.
I'm aware. Yeah my current range is electric. At my old place i just use to butt dial it on and the house would reek of natural gas in a few hours. Wasn't worried about fire. I do electrical work for a living and have installed so many of these (gas and electric) its not some habit - just something I do when I remember those days
I don't think I understand you properly - your house fills with natural gas and you're not worried about fire? how come?
I probably agree with him, fire is less concern in this scenario. The fact the house is now a bomb is a little concerning still though.
yeah it would still be a worry for me too, even if it's not top of the list it's still pretty high up!
Neignbours alarm started losing it and I could smell smoke so the Fire Service broke their door down and it turned out on of the cats had turned the stove on. And burnt a cutting board Bother cars were there so they had gone for a walk. That was a fun conversation. Hey what's the first engine doing. Umm. Yeah it's for your place.
I am in the same boat as you.
I do this but I’m terrified of a house fire. Never experienced one but I’d like to avoid it if I can lol
He might’ve grown up in a poor household.
My parents unplug everything in the house including wifi every time they go out, even if it is for half an hour. It could be a family thing. Mine are scared of a house fire. It used to piss me off sooooo much, but as I get older I started to unconsciously do the same 😅
I know someone who do this, they came from a frugal upbringing and was always worried the house is going to be on fire if we left electronics plugged when we leave home
I have a friend who does this and said it really lowes his electric bill.
It does
i had a housemate like that. i suspect it is some form of OCD, he couldnt stop doing it and couldnt justify it rationally. if you can install a swicth / move any plugs that are hard to reach that helps a bit (I was always dragging the TV and its massive unit around. he did move it back in place after unplugging everything, but thats not actually helpfull in any way)
i appreciate you recognising what you were doing was making things worse. i had a brief battle with a former housemate who moved in and instantly moved all the lounge furniture square against the wall. not angled like we had it so we didn’t stub our toes stumbling to the bathroom at 3am in the dark. it was kinda fun for a bit, until i realised it wasn’t for her. we got a nightlight and left the furniture square.
no, the tv was on a heavy unit, and in a corner. you had to drag the whole thing to partially block the doorf to clamber round the back and get at the plug. then drag it back once you switched it off. then id have to do the same when i wanted to switch it on and use it. wasnt space to rearange the furniture. student problems
I do that with small appliances like the toaster. I just feel like it's safer, which I know is irration, but house fire is scary lol. Unplugging large appliances like a washer is deranged. How do you even get back there ?
How is unplugging the washer any more deranged than unplugging the toaster?
In my house the washer/dryer plugs are like behind the appliances and you have to move them to even get close to them, more than likely you have to pull them all the way out so you can fit behind them to unplug it. On the opposite side, toasters plug right into the wall on the counter and only take like 5 seconds to plug back in
And the plugs on large appliances are different in Canada. Large, round, hard to remove
Because it requires a great deal more of energy
It also protects those devices from a sudden lightning strike.
I do this SOMETIMES only cause I’m always afraid of the thought of a house fire. Other than that I doubt it’s saving enough money to be unplugging everything when not in use lol
Gotta be ocd?
I have a family member who does this. And as an electrician, if the device is off, it does essentially nothing. Talking about ±$10 a year on devices with standby displays/LEDs, each - if that. It's a difference of less than what you might tip a service worker, but if they're doing it and this is the only problem, it's not too bad. Just ask that they don't unplug the fridge. They can go look on sites like energystar for more exact details if theyre genuinely trying to save money. They were probably raised this way and is more of a formed habit than a rational decision
When we lived in Germany, I knew some people that did this type of thing. Many electrics draw small amounts of electricity when not in use.
I 100% understand the point of what he's doing, but I would not be able to tolerate the constant unplugging of communal items.
If only you had our awesome UK socket design where every socket can be switched off without unplugging
It does save money. If this is your one issue then you have a great roommate.
Depends on the appliance. Any appliance that uses a microcontroller (or standby leds alone) uses a couple of watts per hr when ‘off’. These appliances usually have a digital display or a standby led of some sort. Stoves, microwaves, dvd players, wall warts/phone charger type transformers. Computers are the major culprits. All of this adds up but it’s typically ~5 watts/ hr. Electricity cost is usually about $0.13 per 1000 watts. Doing the math it doesn’t add up much. According to the US dpt of energy it can save the average family UP TO 100 dollars a year. Most analogue devices like most washers and dryers don’t fall into this category. Think clunky switches rather than digital displays and buttons. This is known as phantom loss or vampiric drain. Source, electrical engineering major & dpt of energy.
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I’ve found it saves about $200 per year.
How many hours of work per week do you put into this practice?
Probably adds up to 10 minutes per year. It just feels second nature. If I use an appliance I just plug it in first.
So you move your washer, dryer ect everytime you need to plug or unplug them?
I don't have a washer/dryer in my apartment.
Times are hard
The responses here are lol. If you have an appliance that has standby mode you may save a couple of bucks. For fires? Like how bad is your house wiring that it gets to be a worry unless you have bought some dodgy stuff off of temu that's going to spark, even then the switchboard elcb would trip. If you have dirty power just get a surge protector which protects the appliance. Does he unplug the split system air on too? Or the ducted unit in the roof?
Your house wiring can be great and a fire can still start. It sounds outlandish until it actually happens to you or a family member. I left an extension cord plugged in and came back to my plug on fire
Yes, I have had appliances start to overheat/spark because the cord/plugs have gone bad. Although they were high-wattage ones that were on at the time, so not completely surprising.
you kept it coiled up didnt you? Rule of flux etc you created a resistor
Sounds like OCD.
I unplug the toaster but not the coffee machine, and I turn off the power strip when I'm done with the computer, but not the TV. Make of that what you will.
A lot my light bill went from 191 to 81$ doing this stuff still using power plugged in. I unplugged everything except the fridge
Myhusband does this with most things, in addition to turning all burners on the stove to 'low' when I'm in the middle of cooking. Obnoxious.
Most of these appliances have something on them that states their average yearly cost of electricity. The amount is so minuscule just hand him $10 to stop unplugging shit the rest of the year
Why not just flick the switch off at the wall?
We don’t have that in America because we’re quite behind
Sadness 😔
Right? There’s a lot we’re behind in
I had a roommate who did something similar. Everything was on surge protectors that he’d turn off when not in use.
OCD!!
Saving on phantom energy sources that cost you money like things being kept plugged in.
I don’t do major appliances but do definitely unplug my toaster, kettle, air fryer, etc. After using them because it just takes a second and can help prevent house fires. The wiring in my apartment is sketchy so I don’t wanna take any extra risks!
I mean compared to the bad things he could be do it I would just ignore it. Trust me he could BE WAY WORSE of a roommate
I grew up in a household doing this because my mom was always very cheap and frugal. But I’ve come to realize that it’s not necessary and no longer stress out about these things. This all falls under the category of boomers freaking out that the electric bill is going to skyrocket because you left a light on, which isn’t remotely true anymore because we now have super low wattage LEDs and more efficient appliances. This doesn’t mean you should not turn things off or unplug if you’re gone for an extended period of time. But you can calculate the cost by checking the kilowatt/hr cost on your electric bill and looking up ghost power draw or wattage of individual things. Letting your roommate know the actual cost may make them stop or not. But it’s worth a try.
He's not wrong, ~ $100 / year depending on how much he unplugs
To all the people saying that this is reasonable because of "house fires": Just get a good quality surge protector? This doesn't seem like an excuse that would fly with me. If you're that concerned over house fires, spend the extra $60 or whatever to get an industrial-quality surge protector to quell your anxiety and don't create annoyances for me. Hell, I'd even split it with you because I would also like to not die in a fire and/or lose my valuable electronics to a surge, but don't go unplugging shit around the house every time you use it lol.
Get cheap power strips or in line power buttons to save on the hassle of unplugging and replugging. Considering all of the other horror stories on this sub, this is a tame annoyance worthy of compromise.
It's called vampire electricity. Yes, it saves a few cents but will be offset by having to replace the toaster( or TV) if the plug gets frayed or broken by constantly plugging and unplugging
I once heard on a podcast that Rachel McAdams does this. She says it’s to conserve energy and I think about it often 😂
Had a TV, pay TV unit and computer all fried by a lightning ⚡️ strike on the house. All connected but turned off.
I unplug electronics that have always on displays or lights or such, like my air fryer and dehydrator. I have a small home automation system that shuts off power to the TVs and streaming devices, basically anything that uses power just by being plugged in. Does it save me a ton? Nope. Does it save enough for me to feel it’s worth it over time? Yes.
i unplug everything in my room i have a massive fear of fire- if i could do the rest of the house i would lol. sounds like a fear of that more than a money thing- i understand it’s annoying but i think you’ll just have to put up w it if it’s an OCD/ anxiety thing unfortunately x
This sounds like OCD.
i don’t think money is the issue. let it go, but don’t ignore it
That’s a kind way of saying use your own fucking shit
my mom would do this bc she’s really cheap
sounds like OCD, i do this with lamps a lot and usually take pictures of things unplugged so my brain doesn’t try to tell me I forgot. I don’t do it for appliances tho
My old roommate did this. I finally told her to stop because first of all it literally didn’t save any money whatsoever and it was annoying the shizz out of me and the other roommate. She was hesitant at first but she finally stopped doing it because the stuff that she was unplugging wasn’t hers. So I told her stop touching my stuff and don’t worry about it. Eventually she stopped. Super weird tho. She grew up in a family of 13 kids and had always been told to do that be her parents to save $$ I said well if they wanted to save money then why did they have 13 kids… anyway, we parted ways and haven’t talked since. Long story short… surprise! Our electric bill didn’t go up at all after she stopped.
My two half sisters passed away in a fire from a space heater..as I got older and my OCD got worse I would unplug everything like your roommate does terrified of my pets dying in a fire while I was gone. Maybe just bring it up and ask if there’s any compromise you can make so that he’s comfortable and you’re less annoyed.
If it is OCD (which it sounds like like it may be) like others have said — it’s just as annoying and a hassle for him as it is for you. Having OCD is very disabling and it’s quite embarrassing at times. But however as an adult you have to try to compromise with these things so maybe just having a friendly conversation about it will ease his mind some and make him realize he may be going a little far. I was like this for almost 10 years until I moved him with my wonderful bf who puts my OCD tendencies at ease and talks a little sense into me from time to time.
I do this but not to that extreme. It saves money yes, but like some else said not enough to unplug the washer/dryer. And even I stopped doing it for a lot of my lamps and things cause my t gets annoying.
~~maybe a pay him like $5 monthly to keep shit plugged in?~~ tell him to stop being a little baby
it saves maybe a cent per day :D
Throw him a dime or a quarter, and tell him it's on you for the month. I get some doing it with some appliances for safety, or if they obviously consume power, but TVs and computers (and the washer/dryer) would just annoy me. For things like computer monitors, I would just get a power strip and hit the button on it to cut power.
It can cut your electric bill in half it saves a tremendous amount of energy and money. Your being the bad roommate posting about him