Unlike other problems in your home where you can Do It Yourself (DIY), those involving electricity shouldn’t be something you’ll place in your hands. They don’t just cause problems to appliances, but life as well. Electricians are the tradesmen who are well trained in those matters, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t leave them at it.
Experts at KTM electricians suggest, that when your home is giving you warning signs like the following, don’t delay that appointment with your trusted service provider in your area.
Light Flickers When Using Appliances
Do your lights flicker or go dim when you switch on appliances? Well, that would be another sign to call an electrician ASAP.
The first investigation an electrician would do is to first check what appliances are plugged into your outlet. You may be plugging in too many in one go, which could easily cause tripping.
On the other hand, if your outlets are empty yet your light still flickers when you use appliances, then this can potentially be a problem with an overloaded circuit. Since many factors can contribute to this electrical problem, it’s best to have an electrician give their expert insights.
Tripping Circuit Breaker
The circuit breaker is that part of your electrical system that protects your home from potential electrical issues by cutting off the electrical flow through a circuit when the electrical current gets too unsafe and high. Without circuit breakers, household fires may actually occur more often.
It’s common for the circuit breaker to go on and off sometimes. When what would’ve been an occasional occurrence has become more frequent, then it may be a sign that you’re overloading its safety capacity.
There are many reasons why a circuit breaker trips, like:
- Short circuit, which is actually more dangerous than overloading. It happens when a ‘neutral’ and ‘hot’ wire come into contact with each other in one of your electrical outlets.
- Ground faults, which occur when you’re attempting to ground your wiring. It is when the ground wire and a hot wire meet, causing the safe grounding of an outlet to become invalid and now hazardous.
- Defective circuit breaker, as its name implies, is a broken circuit breaker. This one need replacement for the safety of the house or building.
Fuses Keep Blowing
How often do you have to reset your circuit breaker? As a homeowner, you should be aware that it’s not an uncommon chore to reset your circuit breakers once in a while. When it’s running on very high heat, that can lead to a fuse that keeps on blowing, resulting in a brownout in your household.
It’s okay if you have to do this once every few months. But, if resetting your breaker is now a chore you need to do weekly or worse, daily, then you need to call an electrician to take a look at what the problem could be.
Air Smells Like Smoke
This fourth sign is probably one of the most obvious. Just imagine the horror if you wake up one day to a house that literally smells like it’s burning. If no one has been cooking or grilling and your home’s air smells like smoke, then your electrical system is definitely to blame for it.
If you let this slip, you could risk a fire in your house or building due to burning wires. While waiting for the electrician to come, make sure you turn off your electrical supply. So, don’t turn it back on until the necessary repairs have already been completed.
Old Home
Having an old home or you’ve moved into an old one can be a reason that electrical problems can occur. Even though you’ve never had any electrical problem in the past, the house being old also means that the electrical systems may be old as well. It doesn’t hurt to have an electrician check on your home’s electrical system at least once a year.
Two of the main issues that could arise with older homes are:
- Your electrical systems may be overworked to keep up with all the modern appliances and systems you’re now using;
- Your electrical wires may have already been corroded.
Final Thoughts
In closing, one of the most important points to bear in mind is that if you aren’t comfortable troubleshooting a certain electrical issue, you have to call an electrician for it. They’re not just experts in electrical-related matters; but also know how to undertake all those repairs the safest way possible. Working with electricity can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing. If your home has any of the signs above, it should give you a signal enough to call an electrician.
