to think most people wire their own plugs

[Toadinthehole]

The Guardian has begun an online photo gallery which exhibits people's personal experiences of the cuts in Britain.

Exhibit One is a picture intituled "Wiring my own white goods because I can't afford an electrician".

Link here.

Is someone having a little joke?

[MrsPennyapple]

StepAway Yes, I did stop myself when I had two or three kicking around my toolbox :) There can only be so many times that you need a new plug.

[TheBigJessie]

I've never rewired a plug, but I think I do know how. I save the little wiring guides. I have changed fuses, much to the disgust of my FIL. (Who said, "I've never heard of changing the fuse making things work again". I took great joy in showing him that I had been right, it just needed a new fuse.)

During the 90's/early 21st century, it seemed that all people selling electrical items at car boots used to cut the plug off first. Anyone else remember that? So you had to find a plug once you'd got home with your new lamp/toaster/etc.

[Rosesforrosie]

I was shown how to do it at school.

But it has never ever come up in all my years of being an adult. So tbh IF it did come up (don't really see how it would) I probably wouldn't do it myself.

It's an obsolete skill for a reason.

[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

I have not had to change a plug for years...... but, with the help of YOUTUBE I can do anything.

Changing wheels is easy, I couldn't be bothered waiting for the AA.

[freddiefrog]

I've never wired a plug either.

I know how to, so could if I had to, but every electrical item I've ever bought has had a plug moulded to it.

I definately wouldn't call out an electrician to do it

Although, embarrassingly, I did call a plumber to plumb in our dishwasher. DH was away for work for 3 weeks and I didn't have the faintest idea where to start

[TryDrawing]

I've had the extremely frustrating task of trying to recruit electrical assembly staff. Care to guess what percentage of the interviewees were able to correctly wire a plug and socket on to a length of cable?

[Trill]

I think YABU to think most people have any interaction with plugs at all other than plugging them in.

I neither wire my own plugs nor pay an electrician to wire plugs for me

Everything I have ever bought that needed a plug already had a plug attached.

[trixymalixy]

I've wired plugs loads of times, but haven't needed to for years.

I've also wired light fittings and new sockets and wired in my new electric oven when I was a student much to the amazement of my friend.

I've also changed wheels on my car, used loads of power tools, done minor plumbing.

[happybubblebrain]

My plumber said to me "if you don't know how to wire a plug how do you expect to teach your daughter to do it?" I thought that was a bit harsh as it's something you learn to do when you need to; and I haven't needed to. It takes 2 minutes to learn from the internet. There is certainly no need to call out an electrician for this.

[5madthings]

I know how to wire a plug, learn at school. But have never actually had to change a plug. I could if I needed to tho.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

DH changed a tyre the other day - I watched to learn.

I physically couldn't have done it though. I couldn't have reached the spare for a start (slung underneath) and not strong enough for the screwing (fnarrr).

I can wire a plug but I've never needed to. I certainly wouldn't pay someone to do so!

[happybubblebrain]

*note: there could only be a problem if I need to wire a plug for the computer to get on the internet in the first place.

[YoniBottsBumgina]

I learnt at school but have never needed do it. You can't any more anyway can you? Even fuses are in a little clippy-out thing. If the plug on something broke (which has never happened ever) I'd probably just buy a new whatever it was - it wouldn't have occurred to me (until reading this thread) to just change the plug on it.

I'm too young to remember items being sold without plugs - I was amazed when we we did a car boot as a teenager and my mum dragged out an ancient wedding present she'd had and it didn't have a plug attached!

Am moving abroad soon though so maybe the skill will come in handy.

[YoniRaver]

I had two packs of 12 plugs in my garage (left over form when my DH did PAT testing) for years.... I thought they would come in handy but they never have

[squeakytoy]

Do any of you lot know how to change a fuse on a plug?

I have been able to put a plug on an electrical item since I was about 11 years old.

It isnt any more difficult than changing a lightbulb!

[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

The thing to remember when changing a tyre is that the wrenches supplied with some cars can be a bit crappy. I always buy a good quality strong wrench that i can jump on which gives enough torque to cope with MOST wheel nuts including those that have been tightened by a power wrench.

[YoniBottsBumgina]

Colours are because live used to be red and neutral green, but this caused problems for people who were red/green colour blind so they changed them to the more contrasting brown and striped, if they had swapped them over you can be sure there would have been more confusion swapping systems.

I am finding it quite funny that the Americans are so aghast though, since the US plug/socket system has to be the dodgiest in use in the developed world today!

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

People really should know how to do simple things like that. I've even taken off a sealed plug, stripped the wires back and put a new plug on when the sealed one was damaged. i refuse to chuck away a perfectly good appliance because of a cracked plug!

And we replaced the heating element on our electric cooker. And replaced one of the knobs (not the front bit but the entire mechanism)

replacing fuses, replacing the washing machine belt, new ceiling roses, etc...

These are all basic things that everyone should know how to do.

[confusteling]

I can't wire a plug or fix machinery. Can't sew either or use a sewing machine. Very little idea how to replace buttons or how to fix most things, and I can only just change a lightbulb. I've been taught how to do the latter 4 (never been taught how to wire a plug, never learnt much about electricity at all) but still struggle to do even the most basic parts.

I do have dyspraxia though and given that I can barely chop up my own dinner, it just seems safer and easier to ask others to help me out !! I just have to tell people the story about the time I sat on an electric fence, or the time I broke a sewing machine by trying to thread it, and people practically drag me away from the item!!

[LadyIsabellaWrotham]

It's a handy skill if you have to put a cable through a small hole in eg a hifi cabinet. My college halls of residence had plugs of a type seen nowhere else in the UK, so I had a load of practice at a formative age changing the plugs on radio, stereo, lamp, kettle, hairdryer and then changing them all back again when I moved out. I'd be pretty unimpressed by anyone who hired an electrician to do it, although I do use an electrician to change sockets and light fittings because I get The Fear.

[LessMissAbs]

The UK is getting more and more controlled over things like this. Its now in the (Scottish) Building Regulations at least that homeowners are not allowed to fit their own socket ^covers in their own homes". That's totally OTT and impracticable.

As for doing stuff myself, I don't mind getting my hands dirty. I can wire plugs, do all my own painting and tiling, go up a ladder to clean my own windows, unblock a washing machine, change a tyre on my car and bleed the brakes, change the oil, filters, etc.. I literally shovel shit on a daily basis - I muck out my own horses. And my job is purely office based, I who went straight from school to university to my profession. I have a very fond memory of my flatmate at uni, a particularly spoilt pretty girl private school type, who astonished me by immediately plumbing in a second hand washing machine we had just had delivered in minutes with no leaks, worked perfectly.

Yet I have friends who do more practical type jobs, who wouldn't dream of sullying their hands with such tasks.

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

oh god, getting your hands dirty - drains. unblocking the drain outside was a job that will haunt me forever It bloody stank.

[WinnieFosterTether]

I've wired plugs and changed fuses. I just thought everyone did I've never changed a wheel although I know the theory of how to do it. My downfall is washing windows - I'm rubbish at it [squints through streaky glass at outside world]