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How To Protect Your Electrical Outlets

To stay safe in the home we all need to protect our electrical wall outlets. Let’s say you’re sitting at home on a Friday night after work, enjoying a nice glass of wine and watching TV while your housemates sit around playing video games. You hear a loud pop noise outside, followed by a bright flash of light. It sounds like something exploded or caught fire. Now you’re wondering if one of your outlets might have blown up.

The truth is, it could be either scenario. The good news is that there are several things you can do to reduce the risk of this happening to you — so if you’ve had any concerns about your electrical safety, now is a great time to investigate.

What causes an outlet to blow?

If you think you’ve seen a spark in an outlet, but didn’t see anything else, then the likely cause is a loose connection between the power cord and the wall socket. This doesn’t always happen when you plug in or unplug a device, though; sometimes it happens while you’re using appliances or doing other tasks around the house, such as hanging clothes.

This kind of thing happens because the power cord isn’t properly secured. It means that the cord is free to move around inside the outlet, which creates a gap where electricity can leak out. When this happens, you get a small spark. If the gap is big enough, it can reach the ignition point. And once that happens, you end up with an explosion.

Double electric power socket and single plug switch

How can I test my electrical outlets to make sure they're safe?

To start off, there are a few simple tests you can perform at home to check that everything is working correctly. First, make sure all the lights in the room are on (if you’re testing at night, turn them off first). Then, plug a lamp into each of your outlets. Turn it on and watch what happens. If it works, you’re probably fine.

If the bulb doesn’t work, then you need to take a look at your wiring. Make sure the wires coming from the wall are connected properly to the plugs at the ends of the power cords. If they aren’t, then you may need to replace the faulty cable.

If your outlet still hasn’t worked after checking these things, then it’s time to call an electrician. They will be able to tell you whether the problem is caused by loose connections or damaged cables. If it’s the former, then it’s pretty straightforward to fix. If it’s the latter, then you’ll need to replace the whole thing.

How I found out about my faulty outlet

I was watching TV one evening when suddenly the screen went black. After a moment, the picture came back on, but there were no sound bars or speakers attached to the TV. Weirdly, the audio continued to play through the speakers on the TV itself.

It took me a couple of seconds to realise what had happened. My TV had burst into flames and started smoking. Luckily, I managed to put it out before it caused too much damage.

When I got home, I checked the circuit breakers to see if there was anything wrong with them. There wasn’t. So I knew I needed to check the rest of the outlets, just to be sure.

I turned on every single one of them, including the ones in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. Every single one of them worked perfectly fine. At that point, I realized that the fault must have been somewhere near the TV.

I bought a new TV last year, and it was plugged into the same outlet as the old one. So I thought perhaps the new one had somehow dislodged itself from its socket. I checked the back of the TV but couldn’t spot anything suspicious.

Then I remembered that I had recently installed a smart lighting system in my living room. I hadn’t used it since moving in, so I decided to give it a try. Sure enough, the lights didn’t work.

After more than an hour of searching online, I discovered an article detailing the symptoms of a faulty outlet. I contacted the company that provided the smart lighting solution and asked them to send someone over to check the setup. A few days later, a technician arrived and opened up the box containing the smart lights. He was surprised to discover that everything seemed to be working just fine.

He then told me that he thought the problem might have been caused by the wires behind the TV. “There’s a lot of heat being generated there,” he said. “That’s why we recommend you don’t use a Smart TV.”

So I replaced the TV. And I haven’t had another issue since.

Finally

Making sure your indoor and outdoor home outlets are functioning properly is a challenge for a homeowner, as failing to do so may cause damage to your home and to you. Be sure to pay close attention to electrical outlets in and around your premises, taking care to avoid unnecessary injury or illness.

https://localhomesvcs.com/can-an-outlet-catch-fire-with-nothing-plugged-in%ef%bf%bc-2/