Last Updated on March 11, 2021
© pixabay Electricity is so important that you probably can’t even imagine life without it. Just think about how desperate and depressing it is when you are forced to go a few hours with no power in your house due to a storm or an electrical problem. That might give you an idea. In addition to power cuts, electrical problems can also cause critical damage to electrical appliances and even house fires – every year, electrical malfunctions provoke nearly 50 thousand house fires worldwide (and nearly 500 deaths, 1,370 injuries, and .4 billion in property damage). To avoid major problems and reduce maintenance and repair costs, it is important to be vigilant and know exactly how to identify the warning signs of electrical issues. These are 10 warning signs that show that your house might have some critical electrical issues that need repair.1. Flickering lights
If you have lights flickering in your house, there are two things that might be happening: either there is a ghost trying to talk to you in morse code, or the electrical wiring is starting to fail. It is probably the second one. The severity of the problem depends on the number of flickering lights. If it is only one, you can easily fix it by replacing the lightbulb or by bending the tab in the socket upward to improve the electrical contact. If it affects multiple lights in different rooms, you should contact a professional electrician to fix the problem because it most likely means that something happened in the circuit breaker box (or even in the utility drop located outside your house).
2. Buzzing sounds
When a buzzing sound comes out of a power outlet when you plug something in, or from a light switch when you turn it on or off, that is definitely a sign that something’s wrong. Stop using that outlet or switch and call a technician to look into it as soon as possible. It could be either a loose outlet or a fraying wire.3. Weird burning odors
Some new electrical home appliances might release a weird smell when you use them for the first time after you buy them. That’s normal and no reason for alarm. But if a burning smell is coming from a switch or an outlet, you might be in trouble. That means that the electrical system is overheating up to a point where it is melting the surrounding plastics. There’s a huge risk of starting a house fire, so make sure you fix the problem immediately.
