Common Signs of Serious Wiring Dangers

If you let your electrical wiring get out of hand, it’s lights out for you. Don’t get caught out in the dark by your home’s lack of safe wiring. Watch for these signs of wiring dangers, and find yourself a professional to help remedy the problem. If you’re in California, it’s easy enough to find an electrician in Pasadena to help you out for a very affordable rate.

Always Use a Professional Electrician for House Rewiring

When you notice issues with the wiring in your home, you might be tempted to try and fix them on your own. The results can be quite shocking. Never try to mess around with the wiring in your house without a professional present. You’re placing yourself, your family, and your home at risk. You should be vigilant when looking for the common signs of serious wiring dangers, but house rewiring and repairs need to be left to the real professionals.

Is Your Circuit Breaker Tripping?

Today, many homes have a circuit breaker that shuts off when the power fluctuates dangerously. This is a safety mechanism that saves lives. If you notice that your breaker trips off frequently and for no apparent reason, your home’s wiring may be faulty and overloading. You may be dealing with a short in your wires, somewhere in your walls. Choosing to ignore this can lead to fire hazards, shocks, and worse.

Watch for Flickering Lights

Check your home’s lighting regularly. Electricians in Pasadena and other parts of the country recommend that you watch out for flickering light bulbs, or lights that dim and brighten without warning. In most cases, this is the fault of the bulb itself – make sure you try replacing the light bulb to eliminate this possibility. If the problem persists or occurs in multiple locations in your house, house rewiring may be your only solution.

Buzzing Lamps are a Warning Sign

Today’s appliances are built to be silent during operation. If your lamps buzz like fluorescent strips in a 1970’s warehouse when you turn them on, typically bad wiring is the cause. When turning your appliances on, watch out for slight vibrations or shocks. These are all signs of serious issues with your wires. Stop everything and call an electrician immediately.

Heated Outlets Must Be Fixed

As a rule, your electrical outlets must be at room temperature at all times. If you notice an outlet feels hotter than usual, has a slight buzzing noise, or has small burn marks near the holes, steer clear of it. Do not plug anything into the outlet – the wiring inside it is faulty. It might seem easy to open it up and fix the bad wiring yourself, but as any electrician in Pasadena will tell you, this is the worst thing you can do.

Look for Wear and Tear in Wires

This is probably one of the most sure-fire ways of checking for faulty wiring. If you notice that your exposed wires are damaged in some way, be very cautious. Look for faulty splicing, worn out insulation, fraying, and cuts. Any of these can expose live wires that can, upon being touched, deliver a shock that could kill you. Even if you don’t touch the wire, exposed wires tend to short out, spark, and cause fires.

These quick tips are the most common signs of wiring dangers in your home. There are others too, such as the smell of burning plastic (which is a sign of an extreme fire hazard in your home). If you notice any one of these in your own house, remember never to attempt repairs alone. Always hire a qualified, licensed professional to work on the wiring in your home.