When it comes to your home, keeping yourself, your belongings and your family safe is a given. But electrical faults can occur at any time, and cause serious damage to property, possessions and people. So how can you spot potential electrical faults? And what should you do about it? Here at K and M Maintenance, we are domestic electrical experts. As a result, we have produced this guide to potential electrical faults around the home.
Safety first
The first thing to remember when it comes to any of your electricals is that safety is paramount. Faulty wiring or electrical surges can lead to serious injury, even fatality. So when checking your home for electrical faults, do not touch any electrical work, or any exposed wiring. This should only be done by a professional.
Important indicators of potential faults
There are several indicators of potential electrical faults, that are fairly easy to spot and to check safely. These include the lights, sockets and tripped switches.
- Lighting
- In older homes it may be common for lights to flicker when switched on, but this can also be an indicator of an underlying electrical problem.Lights that flicker when switched on or switched off, instead of responding instantly, may in fact be experiencing an uneven or intermittent electrical current as a result of a fault in the wiring, or wear and tear. If this is the case, the lights will also appear to be dull or dimmer than you would expect, no matter the wattage of the bulb that you install.If you notice dim lights or flickering, make sure you contact a professional and qualified electrician to take a look.
- Sockets
- We rely on our sockets for all of our electrical appliances, and some of our sockets never get switched off. For example, the fridge or freezer socket. It is normal for sockets that are in use for long periods of time to feel warm when touched. This is just the natural electrical energy. However, a good indicator of an electrical fault is a hot socket. Your sockets should never be hot to touch.In addition, sockets experiencing electrical problems may also emit sparks. If you notice any of these indicators, don’t hesitate to seek professional advice.
- Tripped switches
- If you electric keeps tripping your switches, and you cant find the appliance that may be triggering it, contact a professional electrician to test your circuit and identify the fault.
In summary
Electrical faults can be dangerous. Finding potential electrical faults around the home is fairy simple once you know what to keep an eye on. Contact the experts at K and M Maintenance for friendly and professional support or advice.