3 steps to follow when electricity does not work

So, do you think your house is going to burn down because a receptacle is not working? I know … I know electricity can be a very scary thing to deal with. Because a lot of people don’t understand how it works, or what to look for when things stop working.

I want to be clear here … yes, there could be a possibility of a fire occurring if a plug or parts of the electrical system stop working. The possibility of it happening is minimal, but it is real. You usually see an electrical fire start due to a loose connection. Basically what happens is that a connection that joins 2 or more cables together will separate slightly. When this happens, arcs and sparks can occur. If something is close enough to catch fire from the heat being produced, you can expect to be in trouble.

Now again, the chances of something like this happening are small … but it does happen. Okay, so what should you do first if you notice that something has stopped working in your home?

1) Make a note of what is being used when you notice the problem … Do you have a high-energy extraction appliance plugged in that no longer works? Some examples of these are portable heaters (probably the main cause of many problems), hair dryers, toasters, basically anything that has a heating element.

2) You want to be sure you didn’t blow a fuse or open a circuit breaker. To verify this, you will want to find where your breaker or fuse box is located. This is usually found in the basement or storage area. Open the door, if you have round glass fuses, make sure there is no black spot in the center of any of them. If there is, then you have a blown fuse, unscrew and replace WITH SAME SIZE FUSE. If you have breakers, check that all handles are tight. When I say tight I mean there is no play at all on the breakers. If you have a broken switch, then that handle will be much looser than the rest. Turn the circuit breaker off completely and then turn it on again. It should click and stay in place. If not, you probably have another hidden problem and it is probably best to call a professional. When you screw in the glass fuse, the same happens if you screw it in and it blinks or you see it turn black inside, then you know there is another hidden problem

3) If you have done the other two things and everything is fine so far, you may have stumbled upon a GFI. Receptacles that do not work, where are they located? Are they in the bathroom, kitchen and basement or outside? If so, it is likely that you have stumbled upon a GFI. Take a look at your house, a GFI can feed other receptacles downstream and cause them not to work. A GFI is a socket that has 2 buttons. A test and reset button. If you find a GFI, press the test button. If it appears, then you know it was set up earlier. Hit the reset button again and you should click and hold that button again. If not, one of the two things could be wrong. The GFI may be bad or there is no power at that socket. In any case, if you are unfamiliar with electrical troubleshooting, then you will want to call in a professional at this point.

What you have done up to this point will be valuable information to your technician. This will save you time and money.