Preventive Home Electrical Repair Tips

Upkeeping a home is a full-time job all year long. Chores needed to keep your home in the best shape possible may include some electrical repairs and maintenance. While Obrien Electrical Contractors is more than happy to provide your home with the best residential electrical services in Denver, you can avoid those trip charges with a handful of tips. Here are some preventive home electrical repair tips you can do on your own to keep your home powered and in good shape!

Trim your Trees and Hedges

Nature and electricity don’t always mix. Spring and Summertime bring the best out of a home’s landscaping, trees get new leaves, and flowers bloom. But with that comes a lot of plant growth, which unchecked can become a very real hazard to your electrical systems and your home in general. This preventive home electrical repair tip is about trimming those unruly plants. Homeowners need to make sure tree branches are clear of any overhead powerlines. Having branches interfere with electric cables is dangerous.

Trees aren’t the only culprit either, shrubs and hedges can be problematic too. Make sure your hedges are clear from exterior outlets and overhead drops from the public electric service lines and your own electrical service. Even if they do not pose an immediate problem yet, those plants will ultimately have to be addressed when you do have an electrician out for service. An electrician will have to hire someone to cut those unruly plants down a size or you as a homeowner will have to do it yourself. So keep an eye on your plants and trees around the home as a preventive home electrical measure.

Electrical Panel Upkeep

Every home needs a routine inspection of its systems, preferably an annual inspection. This can include inspections of HVAC systems, plumbing, appliances, etc. Your home’s electrical systems are no exception to this rule. Having an electrical contractor come visit your home to inspect elements such as the electrical panel is essential to keeping your home powered safely. As time goes on, the circuit breaker or electrical panel will erode causing certain buildups that will affect its abilities. For this preventative home electrical repair, homeowners should inspect their own panel box for any signs of corrosion and rust. In addition, each breaker in the panel should be tested. The best method for this is simple, exercise your breakers by turning them ‘off’ and ‘on’ one by one. This is another easy preventative home electrical repair any homeowner can do. If problems arise beyond these items then it is time for a call to your nearest electrical contractor for help. As a reminder, never operate on your home’s electrical panel box when it involves removing breakers, the front-facing protection panel is off, when the power is on. For all of your home electrical service panel needs, contact O’Brien Electrical Contractors for your next move.

Electrical Outlets

Finally, the last preventative home electrical repair we have to mention is about the electrical outlets installed in your home. If your home is one that is older, there is a change you will need to replace your electrical outlets. This is an important preventative home electrical repair as the outlets in your home are constantly used. A bad outlet can cause breakers to short, discharge electricity, or even cause fires. If you have a bad outlet, you may notice these signs. 

• A soft humming or buzzing sound emits from the outlet
• Heat emitting from the outlet
• Breakers for the room or ara shorting out when a specific outlet is used
• The outlet cover is broken or loose

One option to troubleshot for this home electrical repair is to use a ‘plug tester’. The device is designed to be placed onto the openings of an outlet and measure the electric current when an outlet is on. If you suspect an outlet in your home needs to be replaced please contact your nearest electrical contractor for residential electric services.