Sounds quite possible.

The foot control on my older Singer went out the other day. When I picked it up, the controller was HOT on the bottom making me wonder if it went bad from the heat. At any rate, I'm now putting my new controller on a cookie cooling sheet so some air circulates under it.

My sewing set up is such that I HAVE to unplug it when I'm done------------no choice. Now, I may not leave it plugged in even for lunch breaks.

Wow! Scary!! You just never know, do you? Guess I'd better get smart & start unplugging mine....

We have GFI on EVERYTHING and surge protectors ----BUT you have me thinking about the unplugging.

I have my sewing machine,iron, and a light all plug into a surge protector strip. that I trun off ever time I leave the room and with the light on the some strip it is ease to see that all is off.

I was told that a surge protector only works if it is turned on.

So, turning everything off with the surge protector leaves all of those items unprotected.

I was like you, sweetpea, until a storm in which I had pulled the iron and sewing machine plugs and left in the tall Ottlite. Lightning hit a tree outside our yard which fell on power lines. It took out a ceiling fan, microwave, and the black box on the Ottlite.

I now unplug everything when I leave the area. You could also pull the plug on the surge protector.

Family thinks I am nuts, nuthing is plugged in until I'm ready to use it. Microwave, oven light, toaster. Been hit and fried tooo many times, costly and GRRRRR!

This happened to my mother. Her sewing machine was in the bedroom, we were in the kitchen having a cup of coffee when I happen to look into the room and noticed the machine was on fire. Lucky we were home at the time. Couldn't put the fire out with water so we smothered it with blankets. Very scarey, since then I always pull the plug.

I ALWAYS unplug my iron and machine when not in use.

I don't always unplug, but will now. I remember when I had a high school girl staying with me, who always had the iron plugged in, even if the dial, which was on the top, was turned to the off position. She had a cat who jumped everywhere. I told her the cat could knock the iron down and cause the dial to move to the on position, and cause a fire. I think a good motto for us is to "Be aware, and beware".

Mine is always unplugged when not in use.
I know some people unplug all small appliances in the kitchen also; but we don't here. Hubby and son think it is too much of an inconvenience to plug them in lol. MEN !!