Exposed Wires: The Complexities Of Electrical Installation

A Dangerous Inconvenience: When You Need an Emergency Electrician

31 March 2015

Loretta Hughes

When something goes wrong around the home, you generally want to get it fixed as soon as possible. A broken window? That can't wait, unless you feel comfortable sleeping in a room with a piece of cardboard protecting you from the elements. Your toilet won't flush? That needs to be dealt with immediately, since you probably don't want to have to dash over to your neighbour's house when nature calls. Sure, smaller things can be fixed as time allows, and you can live without your washing machine or TV for a few days, if they happen to give up. When it comes to your home's electricity, it's important to have the problem taken care of immediately. Problems with electricity are not only an inconvenience, but can actually be quite dangerous. But how do you recognise these electrical problems? When do you know it's time to start looking for a 24 hour emergency electrician in your area?

What's That Smell?

If you notice a burning electrical smell, you will need to kill the power to your home immediately. In detached homes, the fuse box is usually on an exterior wall, and the location can vary in apartment buildings, so it's important to find it now - before an emergency occurs. A burning electrical smell is when wires or fuses inside your walls are smouldering, and it can be difficult to locate the source of the smell, since it's coming from inside the walls themselves. These smouldering wires can quickly turn into a fire, so kill your homes power immediately and call an emergency electrician to replace the components in question.

A Bad Trip

It can be a nuisance if your safety switch keeps tripping, but it can also be indicative of a bigger problem. It might be as simple as a faulty electrical appliance, and if you know your coffeemaker is on the verge of giving up, you can probably fix the problem yourself by disconnecting the appliance in question. In rare occurrences, the safety switch itself might be faulty. However, if it keeps turning off your power supply, it's probably a problem with your actual power, and the safety switch is simply doing its job. Faulty wiring can result in a difference in electrical current between your active and neutral conductors - meaning your safety switch activates. If it happens more than once and an appliance is not the obvious culprit, call an electrician immediately. It's not as though you can live without electricity, or with unsafe electricity.

Hot Water Worries?

Can you live without hot water? You might not necessarily classify this as an emergency, but your family might! Check the circuit breaker, and if necessary, reset it. Be wary of electric water heaters that trips your units circuit breaker each time it's asked to heat water - this can be indicative of a faulty component which needs to be located and replaced by a qualified electrician. This is also the case when the breaker is active and yet the water simply won't heat. You can maybe go for a night without hot water, but it would be best to get this one fixed before your morning shower.

Electrical problems are annoying, and yet some of them can pose a danger to you and your family. It's really not worth the risk, so as soon as you notice something is amiss, it's time to call an electrician such as 861 Electrical Services.

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