Outdated wiring in your home can cause serious safety issues as well as other issues. The most worrisome issue with outdated wiring is obvious, house fires. Every year houses with inadequate outdated wiring cause home fires resulting in families losing everything. How do you know if your home needs rewiring?
Let’s take a look at the warning signs that are associated with outdated or faulty wiring.
Frayed Wiring
Frayed wiring is an obvious sign that something is not right and could be a potential cause for electrical issues or a potential fire hazard. Frayed wires can be the cause of rodents, pets, or amateur electrical work that was not done properly. Any sort of damaged wiring in the home is a giant shock risk as well as a serious fire hazard. It is of utmost importance and urgency to address these issues when found, and you should contact a professional electrician to get this fixed immediately.
Warm or Vibrating Wall Outlets
Without touching any exposed wiring, place your hand on wall outlets or light switches. If you feel heat, or any sort of vibration, this is a sign that you have wiring issues related to the fixture. In these cases, it is imperative to contact an electrician, as it is most likely that you have loose or faulty wiring.
Scorching, Discoloration and Smoke
Look at your outlets, do you see any yellowing, scorching or any discoloration? This is an indicator that the wiring and outlet are being subjected to heat and is a serious fire hazard. It should also go without saying that if you see smoke, there’s a massive potential for fire. Contact and professional electrician immediately, any discoloration means that your wiring has already been damaged and needs immediate repair.
Flickering, Dimming or Buzzing Lights
Another warning sign and symptom of outdated and faulty wiring is lights flickering, dimming or buzzing. Just because your breakers don’t trip doesn’t mean that there isn’t a serious issue at hand, and these signs are an obvious way of determining that you do indeed have faulty wiring and that it is time to seek professional help with updating your homes wiring.
Keep Track of how Often Your Circuit Breaker Trips
Circuit breakers in a home with healthy wiring will still trip if your electrical system is overloaded, that’s what they are designed to do and is completely normal. However, if your homes circuit breaker trips on a regular basis, for example several times a month, this is a sign that something isn’t right with the wiring in your home. These deeper issues could be a potentially dangerous problem for your home and the safety of your family and belongings.
Odd or Burning Odors
If you smell any burning odors or odd smelling odors whether they are accompanied by other warning signs or not is a big red flag. If you smell these odors it means that your wiring is already succumbing to high amounts of heat and is already damaged. The issues are only going to get worse and you are at risk of losing your home and belongings due to an impending electrical fire and your family is also at risk. Contact an electrical professional immediately.
Strange Noises
Any sort of popping, cracking, sizzling, or buzzing coming from appliances, outlets, or switches means that there are serious electrical issues. If you hear these warning signs, be sure to immediately shut off power to the affected area and call an electrician.
Conclusion
The warning signs on this list seem like they would be an obvious sign to many people. But surprisingly people may still not be aware of how serious these warning signs are and may continue to leave these issues persist at their peril due to lack of knowledge. If you have any of the mentioned warning signs listed above be sure to take action immediately by calling a professional electrical service. Your home, belongings, pets and family are at serious risk.
Bratcher Electric is a full service electrical contracting firm that has been keeping homes and businesses safe and up to date throughout Michigan for over 50 years. We take care of our customers by providing complete customer satisfaction for every job we perform. Our electrical services include new home wiring, generator service and installation, electrical code and service upgrades, surge protection, whole house fans, and much more! Contact us today for a Free Consultation!