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Cable Covers Tips
Cord Covers With Style
Who knew wire management could be so stylish? There are decorative cord covers on the market made in fine fabrics, like silk, that will turn the arguably boring task of hiding cords in your home into a fun decorating experience.
Some companies offer cords that make the chandeliers and lamps in your home even more stylish. There are 6-foot long cord covers with Velcro edges that allow for easy covering -- without even taking down the chandelier. There are decorative lamp cord covers that look dainty running from your lamp to the wall in colors and pretty patterns that will match any room in your house.
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Why Use Electrical Wire Covers
CableOrganizer.com Tip: If you don't mind the way your mess of electronic wires looks and need another reason to use electrical wire covers, how about for the safety of your family? According to experts, exposed wires cause fires every year due to cords lying on the floor and being walked on repeatedly, heavy and light objects being placed on top of exposed wires, consumers using the wrong wire size for the technology in their home or cords attached with staples, wrapped around nails or curled.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) says flexible cords and cables should be protected from high traffic areas, sharp corners and wherever they will meet accidental damage. Therefore, it is wise to use wire covers.
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Wire Protection from EMI
What does it mean if your wire management device has wire protection from EMI? It means it is protected from Electromagnetic Interference. This occurs when the electromagnetic field of one piece of equipment is interrupted by the electromagnetic field of another device simply by being near it. According to VizionWare, a digital interconnect product company, computer devices are susceptible to EMI because electromagnetic fields can occur as a result of electricity passing through a wire. Unprotected data lines can be corrupted by EMI.
You can buy EMI shielding sleeves and other cable wrapping devices to protect your cables from EMI.
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What Cable Cords Do
CableOrganizer.com Tip: The goal is to hide all the cables running through your living room after your home theater equipment has left a spaghetti mess of wires on your floor. The solution is cable covers and wire covers.
Cable covers control, manage, protect and hide cables while they do their job of powering your electronics. Not only do they provide cable protection, but they decrease the chance of a tripping hazard in your home.
There are all kinds of cable covers and wire covers on the market in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Some are long like a snake, some are in a box form where you can wind the cord around each end and cover, some are enclosed completely, some can be locked and others are shaped like a "J." Some run along baseboards or floors and others can be mounted on walls. You can get them in colors such as black, gray, beige, brown and safety yellow. Decide which type of cable cover fits your needs best.
You can buy light capacity cable covers for most jobs in your home for anywhere between $5 and $75. For bigger jobs and commercial use, they can cost hundreds of dollars.
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Three Ways to Hide Speaker Wire
If you are using wall-mounted speakers for your home entertainment theater, there are three ways to hide your speaker wires, according to decoraudio.com:
Running wires behind the walls, above ceilings and below floors. This is the preferred method because the speaker wire is totally concealed, but this method can pose some challenges such as little access behind the wall or incomplete access to the ceiling or floor through the wall or unanticipated barriers inside the wall that require further cutting and drilling.
Installing wire conduit (a tube or duct used to enclose electrical wires) on the surface of the walls, ceilings and floors. This is simple to do, but the downfall is you can see the speaker wire covers in plain site.
Installing flat wire. This wire is flat and so can be discreetly covered with paint, wallpaper or carpet.
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About Cable Ramps
CableOrganizer.com Tip: If you own a wheel chair or have ever pushed a cart, stroller, or other vehicle with small wheels, then you know how important cable ramps are. Cable ramps allow you to travel your wheels safely and easily over electrical cables.
It's a good idea to use cable ramps that comply with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Cable ramps can be easy to assemble, transport, breakdown and store, are weather-resistant, abrasion resistant, protect pedestrians from contact with electrical cords, yet allow easy access to the cables underneath. Cable ramps are made to be easily noticeable and will not break, pull out or corrode.
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Access Floors Make Great Floor Cable Protectors
If you are dealing with a busy office or data center full of computers and electronics then you are dealing with a lot of wires. You may want to consider an access floor instead of above-the-floor cable covers.
An access floor is a raised floor that your cables are arranged underneath of. Access floors allow for great cabling capacity. For example, an access floor raised 6 inches provides a 4-inch wire management chamber for you to fill. And a steel access floor is a great floor cable protector. It feels just like you're walking on concrete, yet the wires beneath are easily accessible.
As a bonus, according to Processor Magazine, an access floor can even out uneven floors and also allow for an underfloor HVAC, which improves air quality, lowers energy bills and can provide temperature control to individual work stations.
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Play It Safe With Cord Covers
CableOrganizer.com Tip: Cord covers are safety accessories that accomplish two major things. First, the cord covers protect wires and cables from the elements. No longer are the wires in a home or office vulnerable to abrasion, heat, moisture, or dirt. Another feature of cord covers is that they protect people from tripping over loose wires. A high-traffic area in an office with uncovered cords can lead to jobsite injuries and possible lawsuits. Even household areas that see little traffic should have covers on cords. Not only are cords an aesthetic problem, but toddlers and pets can easily injure themselves by pulling or biting on wires and cables.
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Cord Covers Are Attractive
Cord covers are placed over wires and cables on the ground or and can be attractive additions to the home. Not only are cord covers designed for safety, but they also improve the appearances of loose wires lying around the room. There are many different designs and colors of cord covers, making it easier to match with the room's décor. A neutral finish, such as beige or off-white, ensures a more practical investment, should the room's look change over the years. Cord covers are a great idea. Most cord covers are made of rubber or plastic and are discreetly installed around the room above the baseboards.
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Avoid Duct Tape as Cable Covers
We've all heard that duct tape is the universal solution for many household projects. But experts in the wire management industry warn you to bypass the duct tape when considering how to organize and hide your cables and wires. While duct tape has a wonderful ability to conform, stretch and adhere to many surfaces, it's not ideal for cable organization. And here's why, according to cableorganizer.com:
It's ugly and inefficient
It can damage flooring
It can be dangerous when it comes unstuck
Instead, spend the money to get a proper cable cover, a product intended to protect and organize your cables.
