If you’ve just moved into a new home, you’re definitely going to want to have your electrical system looked over by a professional electrician, just to be sure there aren’t any silent, lingering hazards in your new home. Your electrical system is very tricky, and there are a few things that you can take a look at yourself, but there are some things that you may not be able to recognize. Here are five electrical system basics for homeowners.
- Be sure to look into flickering lights. If you have any flickering lightbulbs in your house, it may just be a sign that they need to be replaced, but if you replace them and they continue to flicker, it may be a sign of a more serious problem. Some of your electrical wires could be short circuiting, or you could have a fuse that’s about to blow. If you don’t want to be lost in the dark, be sure to have it looked at by an electrician.
- If you have any outlets that don’t work, you’ll want to have them looked at immediately. An outlet that used to work, but is no longer functioning properly could spell danger. There’s a good chance that there is a short in your electrical wiring, which could very easily start a fire. Be sure to unscrew the plating on your outlet and take a look, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, again, call an electrician, like Jackson electrical contractors.
- Make sure to ground your wires so that you don’t have an open electrical current flowing through. If your electrical wires aren’t grounded, then you could be at very high risk for electrocution. If you live in a relatively old home and your outlets only have two pinholes – rather than three – there’s a very good chance that there are ungrounded electrical currents traveling through your home. Unless you want to wear rubber soled shoes at all times in the home, you want to get this updated immediately.
- Make sure to insulate your wires if they’re kept anywhere near water. One of the most common places to find dangerous wires that are not insulated is in the basement or garage. Unfortunately, if there is any kind of leak or flood, these wires could very easily become lethal. So be sure to check all of your wiring and make sure that it is all well insulated. You just never know what could happen and you’re always better safe than sorry.
- Make sure to put covers on all of your outlets if you have children. As you probably know, it’s difficult to explain to children the gruesome truth of what could happen if they were to stick a sharp object in an electrical outlet. Children are extremely curious and they’re extremely sensitive to some of the more difficult realities that we all face. That’s why it’s important to keep covers on all of your outlets when they’re not in use.