3 Times You Should Call an Electrician to Your Home
It's never good to wait until the power goes out of your home completely before you call an electrician, as ignoring problems with a home's wiring and electrical components can mean putting the house at risk for an electrical fire. Calling an electrician out to service your home's wiring and other such components before they fail or before a spark ignites an electrical fire is always a better idea. Note a few times you should call an electrician to your home and why they may be needed.
1. When Outlets Lack Three Prong Openings
The third prong you see on electrical cords is not there for decoration; that third prong is to help keep the electricity grounded, or better controlled, as it makes its way along an electrical circuit. If you notice that your home's outlets don't have those three prong openings, this is often a sign that your home's wiring is outdated and was installed long before this third prong was put into place on many electrical cords.
Outdated wiring may be more of a risk for being frayed or bare, and in turn, your home may face a bigger risk for electrical fires. Don't assume that this lack of a third prong opening is just an inconvenience, but if you notice that most or all of your home's outlets are missing this opening, have an electrician inspect your wiring and consider upgrading it if needed.
2. When Insulation Has Been Put Over Wiring
Insulation of any sort can cling to electrical wiring and be very difficult to remove without damaging the wiring itself; if the wiring then becomes bare or frayed, it can be at risk for a fire. Some contractors will unroll insulation or blow foam insulation right over wiring without moving it out of place, or you may have done this yourself without realizing how this can damage wiring. Rather than trying to remove this insulation from electrical wiring when it's time to have new insulation installed or when remodeling your home, it's good to call an electrician first. Depending on the type of insulation and how much is actually clinging to wires, you might do well to simply have those wires replaced rather than trying to salvage them.
3. When You Find Dead Rodents in the Home
If you set a mousetrap and catch a mouse, this is not a job for an electrician to handle. However, note that sometimes rats or mice will chew on electrical wiring in the home and then get electrocuted. If you find dead rodents behind walls, it's good to call an electrician to check your home's wiring. They may find where the rodents have chewed through to expose the wiring and, in turn, will replace that section of wiring to avoid an electrical fire.
