Said It Here

Is a chewed power cord safe to use?

Low-voltage cords that have been chewed or nipped by pets often hide structural damage or exposed copper that can cause fires. Using electrical tape to patch them only creates anxiety about whether the repair is actually secure enough.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Testing if the connected device still turns on
  2. 2
    Continuing to use the cord if the outer insulation is not completely breached
  3. 3
    using electrical tape

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/askanelectrician2 people · September 2026

“I'm worried about tubing coming off and causing a fire.”source ↗

“I have used lights with just electrical tape for quite a while before, but for some reason, I'm really anxious about it this time.”source ↗

PoorDoddle · r/askanelectrician · 2 upvotes

“I am worried if there’s structural damage/ copper exposed that I can’t see.”source ↗

“What would be the best course of action in this case?”source ↗

Vegetable_Chemist711 · r/askanelectrician · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised