Troubleshooting Your Outlets
You may not notice how important the electrical outlets are for your home’s most basic tasks until they stop working. If the problems you’re experiencing are isolated, it may be a dead outlet. This is a fire hazard, and if your home still has its original wiring, it’s past time to upgrade your electrical components. Any home older than 1971 didn’t require GFCI outlets in bathrooms and kitchens. Laughlin Electric can install these outlets to protect your home from an electrical fire.
A dead outlet in your home is not a good sign. However, there are a few ways to troubleshoot a dead outlet, including measuring power in your other outlets. You can use a voltage tester or switch lights on and off to see if there are various places you have lost power. Unplug anything connected to the dead outlet to prevent an overload if it resets.
Next, look at your electrical panel and see if any circuit breakers have tripped. This happens occasionally and isn’t something to worry about. A tripped breaker indicates that the last appliance you plugged in required too much power for that circuit. Either move that accessory to a different circuit or unplug unused appliances in that area.
If this doesn’t fix the problem, look for the GFCIs in your home, typically found in bathrooms, garages, kitchens, and basements. Test and reset each outlet to see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn’t, it may have gone bad or has completely lost power. If you still have issues after troubleshooting, it’s time to call the professionals at Laughlin Electric for expert solutions concerning your GFCIs and plugs in Santa Barbara.
Keep your family safe with updated outlets you can trust. Contact us today at (805) 590-2222 for a free quote!
