Every homeowner should perform a basic electrical inspection of their home every year.
Some people reading this might question why even a novice electrical inspection could be so important. The reason is that there are electrical devices that we rely on every day to keep us safe that were designed to be tested by a homeowner.
The first example is the ground-fault circuit interrupters – GFCI – found throughout every home that is designed to “pop” or become disabled in the event of an electrical issue. A GFCI is a device that most commonly has receptacles for plugs but has two buttons in the middle. One button has the word TEST written on it, and the other has RESET written on it. Every GFCI in your home should be “exercised” or tested every year to make sure it is working correctly. To test it, press the TEST button, and the RESET button should pop out. Then, press the RESET button. If you hear a click when you preset it in, and it stays pressed in, and you have power to the receptacle, then that GFCI is indicating that it is working properly at the moment. A professional electrician should be called to troubleshoot if you don’t hear a click.
Every residence has an electrical panel where power passes through to the home’s living areas. Breakers protect these circuits. A breaker is also designed to “break” if an electrical issue occurs. An example of this might be when you have a bunch of family in town on a hot weekend, and your HVAC breaks, so you are trying to run fans using every plug in the house. Most likely, your circuits would become overloaded and pop as a precaution. Every breaker in your junction box should be “exercised” every year, just like the GFCI’s. So, someone should flip them to the off position and back to the on position. If they don’t reset, you should call an electrician.
Another easy test that any homeowner can do is to walk around the house and feel the switch and receptacle plates. Of course, if a plate is damaged, it should be replaced first, but assuming the plates are in good condition, feel them. If they feel warm to the touch, an electrician should be contacted to perform a professional inspection because switches and receptacles should NOT be warm to the touch.
Finally, every homeowner can inspect their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure the batteries are good and working correctly.
That’s it! Four simple inspections that every homeowner can perform.
Remember, these are only four examples. As homeowners, we always need to be vigilant of potential safety issues in and around our homes. If you find something that concerns you, trust your gut, and call a professional electrician.
If you find an issue and need help, we’d love to help you. You can reach us at 208-264-2525.
