You should never unplug these three devices straight from the socket: you may damage them.

Some electrical appliances are disconnected quite often when not in use. These include, for example, an electric kettle or a blender. Other appliances stay plugged in all the time, such as a washing machine or fridge. However, there are some appliances that should never be unplugged, otherwise they risk being damaged. And many people don’t realise this. Which ones are they?

Recently, a friend came to see me and needed help printing some documents. When I took the printer from the library and moved it to the desk, he was horrified as to why I didn’t have it plugged in. For someone who doesn’t have a printer at all, he seemed to be telling me too much about what to do. But then he explained to me that disconnecting this device from its power source can severely harm it.

Why leave the printer plugged in?

Some appliances people unplug because they may take more power, or because they are afraid they may overheat and cause a hazard. That’s why I never leave my cell phone chargers, electric kettle or hot air fryer plugged in. With a printer, the power consumption is minimal and I would leave it plugged in if I had room on my desk. Only I don’t, so I always take it back to the bookcase after use. And that’s obviously a big mistake.

The problem arises when the printer is not turned off with the power button, but simply unplugged from the wall outlet. This is because when it is switched on, the machine is in standby mode and the print head is active. Once you disconnect the cable, the head remains in its current position and when you switch it back on, the printer assumes it has not been used for a long time. A cleaning process is then started, which consumes a lot of ink.

A friend, who doesn’t have a printer at home himself, proudly informed me of this fact and explained that maybe that’s why I don’t have ink in my printer forever. Well, at least I have a printer at all, anyway, I’ll take his advice to heart and find a place next time I don’t have to unplug the device after every use.

Wi-Fi router

I don’t think I know anyone who unplugs a router. Unless they want to punish their kids and turn off the internet, but even that is safer than this way. However, if you are unplugging your Wi-Fi router, you are ruining it. How?

“Routers are designed to be left on continuously, and frequent cycling on/off can put unnecessary electrical and thermal stress on the internal components of the device, which can shorten their lifespan,” explains Geek Aid.

OLED TVs

You shouldn’t unplug modern TVs, especially OLED TVs. In an OLED panel, each pixel is made up of an organic layer that begins to glow when an electric current passes through it. So the pixels are constantly updating automatically in the background. Turning off the power regularly can disrupt this process, which can lead to damage or reduced image quality.

Again, I don’t think I know anyone who unplugs their TV. Of course, if you’re going on holiday and will be away from home for a week, it’s a different story. But if you’re one of those weirdos who unplugs the TV for some reason, you’d better not do it.