What Are The Three Most Common Causes of Electrical Problems?

Electricity is a major part of your daily life, and the electrical appliances that it powers make executing daily tasks easier. The moment you as a homeowner or office owner start having electrical problems, you experience constant disruption in your daily activities. This in turn affects your productivity and output.

Have you recently noticed melted wires and cables, or damaged sockets? Are you tired of constantly changing these gadgets without knowing the source of the electrical problems?

This article outlines damaging signs you should look out for, the most common electrical problems, their causes, and how to fix them or get a professional electrician near you to fix them.

Signs That You Have Electrical Problems

According to the Electrical Safety Foundation, preventable electrical issues are responsible for over 40,000 fire outbreaks in American homes. If you can detect signs of electrical issues on time, you can prevent potential house fires or other damaging effects of electrical problems.

Here are some of the signs to watch out for:

1. Twisted extension cords: One of the signs that you have or will soon have electrical problems is when you have a complicated external wiring system that involves too many extension cords. When you use extension cords excessively, you run the risk of tripping your circuit breakers, damaging your electrical outlets, or starting a fire.
2. Strange/offensive smell: Another sign that there’s a potential electrical issue is when your appliances, breaker panel, fuse, or fuse box produce a burning or melting odor.
3. Overheated outlets/sockets: Regardless of the amount of heat an appliance, such as a toaster or microwave, is supposed to generate, the electrical outlet should normally not heat up as well. When your outlet becomes as hot or hotter than your appliances, there’s something wrong with your wiring system.

3 Common Causes of Electrical Problems

You may be having electrical problems, including the ones stated above, for many reasons, but below are common causes of electrical problems:

1. Incorrect wiring: when your appliances become too hot during use and your outlets remain hot even without plugging anything in them, incorrect wiring is most likely the cause. Incorrect wiring can originate from a fuse box, panel breaker, or socket.
2. Circuit breaker issues: Your circuit breaker is supposed to control current flow, and prevent overheating, and sudden electrical surges that can damage your appliances. However, when your circuit breaker trips too much, it causes the same electrical issues it was meant to prevent.
3. Electricity surging and dipping: More often than not, you cannot control electrical surges, especially when they originate from lightning strikes or your electricity providers. However, sudden and rapid operation of appliances such as your fans and televisions can cause electrical surges. Constant surges, in turn, can circle back to damage those appliances.

How Do You Fix Electrical Problems?

• Immediately turn off appliances that spark or give off funny smells.
• Turn off the main power source when you’re not sure of the source of electrical problems.
• Use surge protectors to control on-off handling of equipment/electrical appliances.
• Reduce your use of extension cords and get a professional electrician near you to install additional outlets for your major appliances and extra electrical needs.

Consult with CLD Electric to schedule a service call to quickly detect and proffer solutions to overheating outlet boxes and sockets. The electrician will fix the issue before it escalates.