When You (Almost Certainly) Do Need an Electrician

Have you looked at all the instructions and do-it-yourself tips available on the Internet and decided a particular electrical repair is something you can manage? Think again—please, especially if the work involves wiring and installations.

If you try to fix something and it doesn’t work, or install something incorrectly, then you’re in for far more trouble and expense—and maybe even fire damage and serious injury—than if you’d consulted an electrician from the start.
Problems with home electrical systems are usually those of age and inadequacy: they don’t have enough power and access to the power is not convenient. Further, it is important to comply with new electrical codes that make homes safer, and with technology accelerating ever more quickly, almost any home more than 25 years old needs some upgrading and repair. Following are some clues to help you decide if you need professional electrical help.
1. If your circuit breakers trip often or your fuses blow frequently, or if your outlets, switches and electrical system surfaces are warm to the touch, your circuits are probably drawing more current than they can safely handle.
2. If your lights flicker, or dim and brighten, when you use a particular appliance, that appliance is probably using a lot of current and should be wired on a separate, dedicated circuit. It could also be signaling a problem with loose wiring or internal damage.
3. If your wall plugs are jammed with multi-receptacle add-ons, or your rugs or carpets are full of bumps from extension cords and plugs running under them, you need to install more outlets, closer together.
4. If any outlet emits a burning smell or sparks, you could be at risk for immediate fire; shut the electrical panel down at once.
5. If your outlets won’t accept three-pronged plugs, it may indicate that your system is not up-to-date enough to be fully grounded.
6. Under today’s codes, the wet locations in your home, such as the bathroom, kitchen and utility room, must be grounded, with outlets protected by Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs).
7. If you find rust under your system’s main service panel, it is a sign of deterioration in the system that threatens your main wiring connections.
For these and most other home electrical problems, you need professional help, like that proffered by Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling. Give them a call.