Electrical Safety: Being More Aware of the Devices in Your Home

To help protect you and your family against the threat of a fire, it’s important that you focus on electrical safety by being more aware of the electrical system within your home. In the video above, we show you a receptacle that was recently removed from one of our customers’ houses. Initially, when our electricians first looked at the unit itself, they noticed nothing more than just a small burn mark. Well, that doesn’t seem too bad, right? Wrong. Why is that? Because when we flipped the receptacle around to check out exactly what was going on behind the wall, we discovered serious damage to the unit.

Most likely, this was caused by a loose connection on the receptacle. Or there  was some sort of home appliance that had been plugged in like a vacuum. However, even if that were the case, the likelihood of it causing that much damage is quite low. Instead, what appeared to have really caused the overheating was a loose connection in the wiring. So, to say the least, this was a fire-hazard in the home’s electrical system that was going to come to light sooner or later.  Fortunately, this one didn’t cause a fire, but that’s not to say that it wouldn’t happen next time. This is exactly why you should ask our electricians in Newtown, PA and its surrounding areas to perform a safety inspection if you notice anything wrong with your system!

So, when we compared the burnt receptacle with one that’s completely intact, we noticed significant differences. While the undamaged model had both screw terminals and all the required components seated properly in the receptacle, the burnt receptacle, on the other hand, was missing all those parts. Why? Because it burned and melted away, completely. The lesson here, is to always be aware of the electrical devices in your house. This means that if you see anything that looks suspect in your home–regardless of how serious it might appear on the surface–you must consider what’s happening behind the wall!

Our electricians take great pride in improving both the functionality and the safety of residential electrical systems throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area. Whether you want to replace your knob and tube wiring in Abington, PA or need a safety inspection in Blue Bell, just give us a call at 267-651-4961—we’ll be happy to help you!