Power on Safety: Purchasing safe gardening tools

Published: 2/4/2025

As Spring has sprung, more of us will be getting the gardening tools out to tackle growing gardens. We want our customers to identify safe tools to purchase and store tools correctly.

Purchasing Safe Tools

When purchasing new tools, it is important to be aware of the dangers of purchasing tools on marketplaces.

The best way to ensure you have purchased a safe tool is to buy from a well-known manufacturer. But if you need to spot a substandard electrical product online, Electrical Safety First has provided some key things to look out for:

• Don’t buy on price alone – Make sure to research if you decide to buy products below high street retail prices
• Don’t just take the sellers word for it or reviews – Beware of a product with solely glowing reviews, especially if the reviewers aren’t verified.
• Know where you are buying from – Many dodgy electrical goods are manufactured overseas. So look out for an address or PO Box. ‘co.uk’ URL does not guarantee the website is UK based.
• Beware of words qualifying an item’s authenticity – If the seller claims the product is ‘genuine’, ‘CE certified’ or ‘approved’ double check the source. Most reputable retailers don’t need to sell their products like this.
• Spot the lock to pay safely – Look for websites that allow you to pay safely – these have a padlock symbol in the address bar of the website you’re visiting.

Follow these tips and you should purchase an electrically safe tool.

Storing Tools Correctly 

Once purchased and your garden is looking fresh, when you are finished with your tools ensure you have properly switch off the tools – and remember to unplug!

Leaving them plugged in for too long can cause overheating and become a fire hazard. Additionally, your powered devices may be susceptible to damage during unexpected power surges or due to malfunctioning circuits.