Do you think your home may have an electrical problem? Wiring issues and electrical malfunctions are the cause of thousands of house fires and hundreds of injuries and fatalities every year. To prevent these losses and unnecessary damage to Canadian homes, it’s important to have electrical issues examined and resolved right away.
Here’s how to tell if your home is experiencing electrical issues:
Flickering or Dim Lights
Most often, flickering or dimming lights may be an easy problem to solve. Determine whether your lights are drawing power from the same circuit as major appliances, such as washing and drying machines, dishwashers, heaters, etc. These machines require much more power and may be causing your lights to lose out on the energy they need to function properly. If moving the lights to another circuit doesn’t help, consult an electrician for more guidance.
Sparks
Sparks flying between people are great. Sparks flying from your electrical wiring is never good. If the sparks come from an appliance, a repair person should be called from the retailer or manufacturer. Sparks coming from your electrical outlets or wiring should be addressed by an electrician – and promptly.
Hot Switch Plates or Outlets
Outlets should never be hot to the touch or give off heat. Even if the item you’re using – such as a curling iron or toaster oven – are meant to produce heat, they should never cause heat at the outlet. I you are experiencing heat, try your device in another outlet. If outlets or switch plates are hot without anything plugged into them, you will need to disconnect power to that outlet or area until it can be serviced by a professional.
If you think your home may have an electrical problem, contact a Langley electrical specialist. An electrician can evaluate the issues, find the root cause, and suggest and provide solutions that can have your home’s wiring working properly – and safely – in no time.
