Electrical

Having a dead electrical outlet in your home can be a real pain. You likely organize your electronic devices and appliances based on the location of your outlets, so having one that suddenly stops working can force you to practically rearrange everything in your home. It could also force you to rely on extension cords and power strips, which shouldn’t be overused.

When you have dead electrical outlets, the best course of action is to contact an electrician for repairs. Your home’s electrical system is simply too dangerous and complicated for you to attempt to fix a dead outlet or replace bad wiring by yourself. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t troubleshoot a “dead” outlet to see if there is a simple solution to your problems. If an outlet is truly dead, you can always contact Pipe Works Services for assistance. Otherwise, here’s what you should do if an electrical outlet in your home stops working.

1. Check Your Circuit Breakers or Fuse Box

If an outlet in your house suddenly stops working, check your breaker box to see if any of the circuit breakers have been tripped. If this is the case, the tripped circuit breaker switch will be on the opposite side of the other switches in the box. Push it back into its original position to reset it.

If it’s not immediately obvious which circuit is broken, turn off all the appliances and devices that you can in your home, and test the switches until you find the one that has tripped. When you think you’ve reset the right circuit breaker, go back and test the outlet to see if it works or if it trips the breaker again. If the breaker trips again or if it trips frequently, you likely have a problem with your home’s wiring and should contact us for repairs.

If you live in an older home, you might have a fuse box instead of a breaker box. Fuses bridge the gap in electrical circuits and break when too much current flows through them. When a fuse blows, it needs to be replaced. Check your fuse box to see if a fuse has blown, and replace it with a new one with the correct rating.

As with circuit breakers, multiple blown fuses are a sign that something is wrong with your electrical system that should be checked out by an electrician.

2. Check Your GFCI Outlets

Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) are outlets that are installed in areas where there is a high risk of electrocution due to outside factors, usually high levels of moisture. They’re often required to be installed in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, unfinished basements, laundry rooms, and exterior installations such as decks and porches. Basically, if you have an outlet that is likely to be exposed to water, it might be a GFCI outlet. When a GFCI outlet detects an electrical imbalance due to too much moisture, it shuts itself off much like a circuit breaker.

GFCI outlets are usually labeled, but these labels can wear away over time. If you’re not sure if an outlet is a GFCI, look for two buttons marked “Test” and “Reset.” If one of these outlets stops working, press the “Test” button to make the “Reset” button pop out. Press the “Reset” button after this, and the outlet should work again. If it doesn’t, the outlet might be dead and should be repaired by an electrician.

We should also note that GFCI outlets shouldn’t be used for freezers and refrigerators. They are designed to shut off when exposed to moisture as a safety measure, and they are more likely to do so than other outlets. If you have a refrigerator or freezer plugged into one of these outlets, it could shut off unexpectedly and cause food to spoil.

3. Look for Loose Connections

Some outlets stop working due to a loose connection. To check for a loose connection, shut off the power to the house from the main breaker and remove the outlet from the wall with a screwdriver. Gently tug on the wires behind the outlet to see if they’ve come loose. Some wires are connected via stab-in links that can come loose over time. These can be pushed back in without much trouble. If they keep coming loose or if you’re not comfortable with this task, don’t hesitate to contact an electrician for assistance. It’s always better to have a professional take a look at any electrical problems rather than risk your own safety, even if the solution is a simple one.

4. Check Your Devices

It sounds simple, but sometimes the problem lies with what you plugged into an outlet and not the outlet itself. Appliances, electronics, and even power strips and extension cords can break down. If that’s the case, they won’t work no matter where you plug them in. To check if this is the case, unplug all devices from the “dead” outlet, and try them in another outlet.

5. Know When to Call for Help

We’ve said it a few times here, but you should never hesitate to call a licensed electrician if you aren’t comfortable fixing or troubleshooting any electrical problems in your home. Tripped circuit breakers and GFCI outlets that shut themselves off are common problems that are easy to fix, but if your outlets still won’t work after you’ve tried these simple solutions, you have other problems that need to be addressed by a professional. Electricity can be very dangerous, and you could be risking your life by attempting a DIY solution to your problems.

Call Pipe Works Services for Assistance

If you have a dead electrical outlet, damaged wiring, or an electrical panel that can’t handle all of the appliances and electronics in your home, Pipe Works Services will be happy to assist you. Pipe Works Services has provided electrical, HVAC, and plumbing services to homes in Chatham, NJ and the surrounding areas since 2000. Since then, we’ve gained a reputation as trusted experts who care about our customers’ safety and satisfaction. Some of the services we offer include:

  • Heating and air conditioning replacement and repair
  • Plumbing repairs and installation
  • Electrical repairs
  • Indoor air purification
  • Ice dam removal

Since we know that emergencies can happen anytime, we offer 24/7 emergency repair services, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any issues that need to be repaired immediately in your home. We also regularly have specials and financing to keep all of our electrical services affordable for our customers.

For more information about our services or if you have a dead electrical outlet that needs to be repaired, contact Pipe Works Services in Chatham today. We will be happy to answer any questions about your home’s interior electrical issues that you might have or send someone to your home for repairs.

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