From major power outages to an outlet that does not work, many homeowners face electrical issues. The only question is, does your electrical problem warrant a call to your emergency plumber?
If you experience any of these residential electrical issues, contact an emergency electrician right away.
Your Home Floods
When a pipe bursts or your basement fills with water, chances are contacting an electrician is your last concern. However, water can damage your electrical system. If you walk into your home to clean up the mess, you can potentially suffer a serious, life-threatening shock. Contact an electrician before reentering your flooded or water-damaged home.
The electrician will shut off all the power to your home and, if necessary, turn off the electric meter. If your home or any homes in the neighborhood have a generator, its electricity could send stray power through your home’s electrical system, which poses a serious electrocution risk. After the electrician gives you the okay, enter your home and clean up the damage.
You will also need an electrician’s help to repair any damage to your system after the flood. If the damage is minor, the electrician might salvage some of your wiring. Unfortunately, if too much damage or standing water exists, you might need to replace your electrical system’s components.
Your Outlets Are Burnt or Smoking
Most modern electrical outlets are grounded, which means they have a third grounding wire that provides another path for electricity to flow. This makes them safer than ungrounded outlets. Unfortunately, even a grounded outlet can begin to smoke, feel hot to the touch, or burn. A few reasons exist for why this might occur.
For example, if the wiring in your home is outdated or cannot handle the number of appliances or gadgets plugged into an outlet, the wiring can overload. Older wiring can degrade, which can also cause it to short out. Unfortunately, if the electricians who wired your home used substandard parts or did a poor job, this can cause the outlets to set on fire.
Take these steps if you notice an outlet is burnt, smoking, or on fire:
- Call 9-1-1. If the outlet is on fire or you smell smoke, do not take a chance. Instead, contact the authorities right away.
- Get your family to safety. Grab your kids and pets and get safely away from the house.
- Grab your fire extinguisher. If the fire is contained, using a fire extinguisher can help keep the fire from spreading. However, if a lot of smoke exists or you notice a large fire, let the authorities handle the situation.
Contact an emergency electrician when you get the okay to reenter your home. The electrician can replace any damaged outlets and wiring and determine why the fire happened in the first place. For example, if the wiring was older or substandard, your electrician can upgrade it to ensure a fire does not happen in the future.
Your Electricity Hums or Buzzes
That constant hum or buzzing you hear is not only an annoyance. Those sounds could be a potentially dangerous electrical issue that you need to address immediately. Here are some reasons why your electricity makes a strange humming or buzzing noise:
Improperly grounded wiring. When ground wires become lose or had improper installation, they can vibrate and buzz. An overloaded outlet can also hum.
- Dimmer lights. Dimming the lights does not turn down the intensity of the bulb. Dimming causes the bulb to turn on and off rapidly, which makes you think the lights have dimmed. This constant on/off can cause a humming.
- Problems with circuit breaker. Humming coming from the circuit breaker is a sign a circuit is overloaded or a wire is loose.
Hums that mainly occur when larger appliances turn on and off are totally normal and typically do not mean your electricity or appliance have a problem.
Your Lights Go Out
Finally, if your lights are out yet the neighbors have their electricity, contact your local utility company to determine if your service has a problem. If no issue exists, or if the power is only out in certain rooms of your home, contact an electrician right away. In addition to restoring your power, the electrician can determine if the cause of your outage is something minor, such a problem with the wiring in the specific room, or if a more serious issue exists, such as a failing circuit breaker.
From a strange humming noise to a flood, several reasons exist why you should contact an emergency electrician. If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact the professionals at A to Z Electric Co. We are here to help you with any electrical problem your home has and are available day or night to take care of your electrical emergencies.