In today’s world, electricity isn’t a convenience; it is a necessity. From keeping your home comfortable to staying connected to the world at large, it plays a vital role in how we live our lives.
A lot of residents use an electric stove and oven for cooking their meals or a microwave to reheat leftovers. When we want to communicate with friends and family or conduct business, we do it over cell phones that must be charged from an electrical outlet.
Even our cleanliness is dependent on electricity. Vacuum cleaners don’t run without them, and most hot water heaters are powered by them. We tend to take electrical service for granted but, it doesn’t take long for a power outage to make us well aware of how important electricity is to our daily lives. As important as electricity is, most of us really don’t understand how it works or know the signs that our system may be beginning to have issues.
Unlike other problems that arise in a home, electrical work should not be attempted as a DIY project. Its mishandling can lead to serious risks to both life and home. In the interest of keeping everyone safe, Tioga Plumbing & Electric offers this short list of signs you might need to call a professional electrician.
Your Lights Flicker
People often just change their light bulbs when their lights start to flicker. If they have read too many ghost stories or watched too many movies, they might suspect they have a spirit haunting them. A bad bulb might be a problem, but if you have changed out the light and it still flickers, this can be a sign of faulty wiring.
Like anything else, wires can degrade with age, and connections can work loose. In either case, a flickering light is a sign that you have a serious issue with your electric system and need to call an electrician. A bad electrical circuit can present a fire hazard and compromise your safety. A licensed electrician can quickly diagnose your problem and offer advice on the most cost-effective way to remedy it.
Shocks from Plugs or Switches
It is never a pleasant experience to get an electrical shock, and while it is annoying at best, it can have deadly results. According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission, about 200 people die from being electrocuted in the home each year. Of these, 20% are due to faulty wiring. That’s no laughing matter.
If you touch any outlet or switch in your home and feel even a tingle, you should seek the advice of an electrician immediately. Beyond this, if you touch a switch or plug in your home and it is warm, that can be an early sign of problems developing. It is best to make that call before the issue develops into a bigger problem.
Your Outlet Sparks
Minor sparks from an electrical outlet are not that unusual, especially if you are plugging in an appliance that has its switch on. However, if it is a regular occurrence or the plug is building up heat, it can be a sign of a worn-out socket, short circuit, or other wiring faults. You will need the advice of an electrician to know for sure.
These sparks can present a fire hazard, so it is best not to leave things to chance. The remedy may be as simple as replacing the outlet or installing a ground fault (GFCI) plug. Then again, there could be bigger issues afoot. There is no way to know for sure without an onsite inspection.
Circuit Breaker Trips Often
Unless you live in an extremely old home that has never been brought up to code, you will have two different types of circuit breakers in your home. There will be a main that controls all the power coming into the building, and then each individual circuit in your home will have a separate breaker or possibly fuse in older buildings. Their purpose is to protect the circuits from overloads, shorts, power surges, etc.
If one of the smaller breakers is tripping on a regular basis, that is a sign that either you have overloaded the circuit with too many devices or there is a deeper issue in that electrical circuit. You can try lowering the power demand on the circuit and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, you are going to need an electrician.
Anytime your main trips other than from a lightning strike or other known cause, it is best to call an electrician and let them inspect your residence. Even if you know the supposed cause, an inspection is still advisable. Mains don’t trip often, and when they do, it is usually from a major event. There could be unseen damage.
Electronics Die Quickly
One sign that many people don’t realize can be a sign of electrical problems is their electronic devices going bad quicker than they should. Most just put it off to companies building shoddy products.
Electronics are more sensitive to power problems than regular appliances. If you notice that you are having to replace stereo equipment, computer power supplies, or other electronics frequently, it could be due to a problem with your home’s electrical system.
You could be getting what is commonly called dirty power from your utility company’s main feed, or it can be a sign that there are minor faults in your home’s wiring. Only a trained electrician will be able to tell.
Electrical problems are never something to be taken lightly. Nor are they something that you should try to tackle on your own. For the safety of your home and loved ones, contact the expert electricians at Tioga Plumbing & Electric at (682) 224-0757. As a family-owned and operated company, they are neighbors you can count on.
For helpful advice on electrical issues, see our most recent blog on this topic here.
Photo By dencg at Shutterstock
