If you keep finding yourself without electricity because your electrical outlets keep turning off, you might have a serious problem that needs to be checked out. Here are some possibilities to check, and the seriousness of the problem.
The circuit breaker keeps tripping
How do you know if the circuit breaker keeps tripping? This is the problem when your electricity goes out from one outlet or a small number of outlets. You know it is a circuit breaker if you or someone else can go to an electrical box, usually located in the basement, and flip a switch to restore the lights.
Just flipping the switch back on is not a permanent solution or a good strategy. instead you should look to reduce the number of things you have plugged into that outlet.
Better, you should hire an electrician to run additional lines to that space so they can carry more electrical load.
The GFCI keeps tripping
How do you know if the GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) keeps tripping? There is a small button, usually red, on the outlet itself. When it pops out, the radio turns off or the mixer stops working. When you push It back in the appliance works again.
As with the circuit breaker, simply pushing the button every time it trips is not a good solution. Every stoppage is an indication that the wire has been asked to carry too much load or that there has been a short, which could create a dangerous situation for a person using electricity.
The outlet is warm and only works sometimes
If the outlet is warm when you use it and it only works sometimes, this is a big red flag. You should stop using that outlet right away. these are the starting conditions for a fire because the heat means that the wires are carrying too much load and that a circuit breaker or GFCI is not cutting it off. That means it will simply get hotter until the wire burns through and potentially starts a disastrous fire.
My appliance plugs keep falling out
Sometimes when you go to plug something into an older outlet it doesn’t stay in. This is because age and use have worn down the outlet. While this does not present a hazardous situation, it is likely to be quite a nuisance, especially if it is an outlet you use a lot.
If you have any of these problems you should contact a local electrician and ask them to help you solve that problem before it creates a potentially life-threatening situation.
Photo by Brian Patrick Tagalog on Unsplash