As far as the concern of your home safety, electrical wirings need the utmost care. It’s best to keep an eye on the electrical wirings buried beneath the walls to prevent any potential damage to your home. Any faulty wirings in your home pose a serious threat and can cause potential damage to your home.
To protect your home from getting damaged, you need to check your home periodically for any faulty wirings buried inside the walls. During any renovation or repair work in your home, you need to inspect all the wirings for any faults which may cause damage. You need to carry out a pro inspection every 10 years.
Below is the list of 6 alarming signs which you need to pay attention to finding any faulty wirings in your home.
- Frayed Wires:
Electrical wires in your home can easily fray from heat, corrosion, and bending. Screws and nails can also damage the wires when they pinch them or pierce through them. Even the rats or mice which roam around your home would damage the wires since they love chewing them.
Check for signs if there’s some mice activity and inspect all wirings to avoid any apparent damage to your home. The presence of damaged wires that are caused by any reason is hazardous. It needs to be examined and inspected by a professional to replace.Also make sure to have a spare 100 ft extension cord at home in case any wires get damaged.
- Shocking Switches:
If there are any shocking switches present in your home, it indicates the presence of any damaged wires or a bad switch. Shocking switches are a result of any short circuit in the wiring which conducts electricity within the closed-loop.
Even the device which connects the switch could be damaged, the switch might be faulty, or the insulation of a wire could be damaged. In case the problem persists even after disconnecting the device, you should call an electrician to examine and repair the damaged wire.
- Flickering or Dimming Lights:
Usually, lights draw a little electricity, and a faulty fixture may cause dimming or flickering of lights. If your lights flicker whenever you switch on multiple appliances, you are overloading your wiring or circuit. It may damage your wirings and even the appliances connected to that circuit.
If you find any flickering or dimming lights in your home, don’t repair it yourself. You need to consult a professional for the up-gradation of your circuit to avoid potential damage.
- Fuses and Breakers Tripping:
Usually, the circuit breakers’ designs are to trip to protect your home from any potential damage whenever the circuit gets overloaded. Whereas the fuses are also known for the same functionality, they would blow out during the circuit overloading, which they need to replace.
Whenever you notice frequent circuit breaker trips and blown out fuses in a short period, even without plugging in too many appliances to a typical circuit, then it is a clear sign that your circuit or wiring is damaged or short-circuited. Get a professional to examine them and get them repaired as early as possible before any apparent damage takes place in your home.
- Discoloration, Smoke, and Scorching:
If you notice any discoloration and scorch marks across any outlet in your home, then it indicates that the wiring is damaged, and the outlets are emitting heat because of which they are getting scorch marks.
If the heating of the outlet continues, then the wires may burn and release smoke due to overheating. This problem needs to be addressed at the earliest as it may cause a severe problem inside your home due to smoke release. Get a trained electrician, get the outlets repaired, or replace to prevent the appliances and your home from getting damaged.
6.Sparking and Burning odors:
If any sparks are coming out of the fuse box, then it is quite common. But the sparks out of any appliance indicates a damaged fixture. You can call a repair person to get the appliance repaired. However, if you get any burning smell in your home, sniff out for the outlet or appliance from where the burning smell occurs.
A burning smell in your home indicates damaged wiring or circuit where there might already be a fire inside the circuit, and it can spread to the surroundings, which can set your home on fire if you fail to address the issue as soon as possible. Call a certified professional to get the circuit and appliances examined and fixed. Until then, turn off all the appliances in your home and cut off the power to the main supply.
Conclusion:
Use all your senses and pay attention to any of the above-stated signs. If you encounter any of them, then it is a clear sign that your home is in danger, and if unattended as soon as possible, your home would face potential damage.
Electrical problems need to be attended by a trained and certified professional. So contact a trained professional to resolve the issue and get the circuits and wirings repaired the moment you see any of the above stated alarming signs.
