Whether you live in a brand new or old home, the risk of faulty electrical wiring is always present. Electrical wiring problems are no joke, as they can result in a devastating fire or cause serious injury and even death. This is why you need to learn how to detect faulty wiring. Fortunately, there are telltale signs that are easy to spot once you know what you’re looking for.
Here are the 6 most common signs of faulty electrical wiring:
Flickering or Dimming Lights
Flickering or dimming lights can occur for no particular reason. The first thing everyone probably does is changing the light bulb.
But if the problem persists and flickering and dimming becomes a regular occurrence, chances are that there is a problem with the stability of power output. This indicates that you possibly have faulty electrical wiring.
Frequently Blown Breakers and Fuses
Everyone has to deal with a blown breaker or fuse every once in a while, but if you start noticing a pattern, it may be a sign that you have a problem in the electrical installations in your home.
Most commonly, the reason behind this is an overloaded electrical outlet. You don’t want to chance it; the overloaded house power grid can overheat and cause a fire. This is why it is always smart to contact a professional electrician to help inspect your installations.
Charred or Darkened Outlets
This problem is related to the previous one. Sometimes a breaker or fuse won’t get blown and your appliances will continue working as intended. Unfortunately, your outlets will suffer.
This is preventable by taking out the extension cords in use every once in a while, to inspect the outlets. If they’re charred or darkened, you should definitely get your installations inspected by a professional.
Charred or Darkened Switches
Switches are one of those smaller devices in our homes that we constantly use but are often overlooked. They feature small delicate parts that tend to wear off over time.
This deterioration can cause overheating, which you can notice as the slight discoloration of your switches. Make sure to get them replaced before they break down completely as they can potentially cause a fire.
Outlets and Switches Emit Shocks
Outlets and switches can emit shocks, as you may already know. This is very common, and it can happen for a variety of reasons. The appliance you are using may be faulty, the outlet might have gone bad, or there might be something wrong with the wiring.
You can unplug your appliances one by one to check whether one of them is causing you problems. If the issue persists, you should get your wiring inspected by a professional.
Burning Smell
If your appliances are overloading the electrical grid in your home, it will start to heat up. Any part of it can become hotter, a switch, an outlet, or even a piece of wiring in your wall.
When exposed to overloading over a long period of time, the temperature will rise to high levels and start to melt the plastic on the cords, outlets or switches. The burning smell indicates that there is something wrong with your installations.
Turn everything off and make sure to contact a licensed electrician to take a look at it.
These are the most common electrical problems and solutions. As you can see, there is only so much you can do. With electricity, you want to play it safe – contact a professional, such as MSC Electrical, to help you pinpoint the problem and fix it for you.
