So many of our items now have internal batteries built in such as laptops, phones, tablets and power banks. These devices may use a number of different connections for charging such as Micro USB  or lightning connections. You should always try and charge the device using the cable that was supplied with it but you may need to replace it after a while or get another one to keep in another room. When buying charging cables be sure to only buy them from genuine retailers. Unfortunately, all chargers can fail or even become dangerous over time but it is more common with charging cables that have not been made to standard.

When you plug your device in, be sure not to leave it on anything that could potentially be flammable such as a blanket or cushion. Chargers and their devices can become very hot quite quickly which can be a fire hazard.

Although charging cables do get warm, they shouldn’t get so hot you can’t touch them. IF you have a cable that gets this hot it may be worth throwing it away and investing in a new one as it is likely that it is faulty and needs to be replaced.