5 On Your Side

In digital age, you can't have enough charging cords

In the mobile age, power is key. And for many, charging cords are needed to power personal cellphones, work cellphones, laptops and tablets.

Posted Updated

In the mobile age, power is key.

And for many, charging cords are needed to power personal cellphones, work cellphones, laptops and tablets.

Consumer Reports suggests skipping inexpensive chargers, some of which could actually damage your devices.

"At the very least, they can void your warranty, and they break really easily," Consumer Reports Allen St. John said. "But even worse, they can short out your device, and they could even start a fire."

Consumer Reports recommends paying a little more for a charger approved by a manufacturer.

The UL symbol from Underwriters Laboratories means it meets certain safety requirements.

Another issue for some is not being able to find charging cords when you need them.

"It may seem counterintuitive, but if you lose chargers all the time, what you need to do is actually buy more of them," St. John said.

Leave extra charging cords in your office, car, bedroom and kitchen. You're less likely to lose it if you bring the device to the charger than the other way around.

Leaving charging cords in the same place also solves another problem. When cords are transported over and over, storing them by wrapping them up can weaken the wiring inside and damage the charger over time.

The best way to keep cords healthy is actually balling them up and putting them in a bag, Consumer Reports says.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 All Consumer Reports material Copyright 2017 Consumer Reports, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. For more information visit consumer.org (http://consumer.org/)