What never to do with a flat cord

Not under a rug or carpet

A cord under a rug gets walked on. The jacket wears from the inside where nothing shows, and the warmth the cord makes while it works has nowhere to go once there is padding over it.

The clips exist so the cord can run along the wall instead. A couch or a bed can still stand over it there, because nothing moving ever lands on it.

Not through a wall, a floor or a doorway

A cord set is not building wire and is not made to be closed up inside a structure. Threading it through a hole, under a threshold, or through a door that shuts on it puts a pinch point somewhere nobody will ever look at again.

If power is needed on the other side of a wall, what is needed is a receptacle. That is an electrician and usually a permit, not a longer cord.

Not plugged into another extension cord

Chaining cords end to end adds a joint that can work loose and gives the whole run more length than any single cord was built for. It also makes it easy to lose track of how much is drawing power at the far end.

One cord, one wall receptacle. If the run will not reach, the answer is one longer cord rather than two shorter ones.

Not stapled, nailed or painted over

A staple driven through a jacket is a cut you cannot see. Paint stiffens the jacket so it cracks where it bends, and it covers up every mark that would otherwise tell you the cord had been damaged.

The adhesive clips are there precisely so that nothing has to go through the cord to hold it.

Not for the heavy things

Our cords are built for 125 volts and 13 amps, which is 1625 watts for everything on the far end added together. One portable space heater is usually 1500 watts on its own, and heater instructions almost always say to plug it straight into a wall receptacle with nothing in between. The same goes for window air conditioners and for anything with a motor that starts under load.

Lamps, a television, chargers, a router, a fan, a clock: that is the sort of load a run like this is for. The watt number is printed on the label of the thing itself, so add them up rather than assuming.

Not as permanent wiring

A cord set stays temporary by design, whatever it looks like once the furniture is back in place. Give it a look whenever you move the room around: check the plate where it meets the outlet, run a hand along the cord for flat spots and nicks, and see whether the clips are still holding.

Anything warm to the touch, discolored, or loose in the receptacle comes out of service. Do not tape it and do not keep using it.