How to Handle Electricity and When to Call in the Pros
Joe Cline
There is a reason you call the electrician every time something goes wrong with your electricity - not many people, you included, like playing around with wires. There are too many opportunities to electrocute yourself, start a small fire or do similar damage to you and everyone around you. However, you dont want to be too hasty in calling for help, particularly since each visit comes with a bill that, in this economy, isnt always something you can afford. Therefore it is important you take proper precaution and continue to monitor the electricity running through your house. When you attempt to fix something yourself, be even more careful, for that is when electricity is most dangerous
Start by making sure all safety measures are in place before going anywhere near the offending electrical unit. That means turning everything off - leaving anything on dramatically increases your risk of electrocution. And just to be on the safe side, put a small note near the circuit breaker or outlet explaining why the equipment has been shut off. This way no one will turn it back on and unwittingly endanger your life. You also want to test for electricity using a neon circuit tester and insulate all of your tools. Do your work in a dry, safe area and make sure that your own body and clothes are dry, as well. Too much moisture from any source is asking for trouble.
Once you are safe and secure, move on to the problem. If the only snag is a blown fuse or tripped circuit, replace the fuse or flip the thrown switch. But as you do so, try to determine what you can do differently to prevent blown fuse from blowing again. Typically the problem lies in the number of appliances relying on a fuse or circuit for power. If thats the case, you want to get rid of some of those appliances before restoring the unit to power. Should you start everything up again and the breaker continues to trip, you may have a current overload. That will require more consideration than the occasional blown fuse, and youll want to approach the problem as a more serious one.
Another serious problem is leaks or short circuits, when the electricity leaves your wiring system for another path or route. This can lead to electrical shock or fire, neither of which are something you want to experience in this lifetime, particularly since it could be the last thing you do. Create safe paths for your electricity. Make sure all wiring is up to code and not likely to fail. If you do short circuit, try to determine the cause. If you cant or if it continues to happen, call the electrician. This is a problem that definitely requires professional attention.
Electricity is a complicated and volatile yet necessary part of our lives and homes. We must have it to survive, but having it in an uncontrolled manner can kill us. So it is vital that as homeowners we ensure that all aspects of it from wiring to location to maintenance are kept up to code. And when necessary we must bite the bullet and call in professional help, for electricians are the ones best trained to deal with the shocks and jolts of electricity.
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