Why Is My Electrical Outlet Not Working?

Why is my electrical outlet not working? Never a good question to be asking. Electrical outlets, or receptacles, are necessities we just can’t live without. Because they’re so important in keeping us in sync with our daily routines, it’s a real inconvenience if an electrical outlet is not working. If you are having electrical outlet problems, or have ever had flickering lights or dead power outlets, here are three possible reasons why.

1. Loose Contact Points

Power outlets have no moving parts. However, they do have contact points made of metal. These metal contact points have ground connections that eventually wear down and loosen over time, which causes exposed contact points. This is problematic due to the chance of increasing resistance and heat. Increasing resistance and heat leads to problems with electrical wiring often causing blown fuses in the electrical panel or a blown breaker. To prevent this from happening, call Mister Sparky to replace power outlets when outlets appear to be cracked or burnt.

2. Loose Wires

Loose wires at connection points can not only cause abnormal amounts of heat generation, but they also cause sparking in breaker boxes, which can lead to arcing. Arcing can cause hazards such as fire or burn marks in terminals. If you see fire from an electrical outlet you may need an emergency electrician. To make sure there are no loose wires in your electric outlets, call Mister Sparky for a home electric inspection.

3. Low Quality Power Outlets

When getting power outlets installed, cheap and low quality is never a good idea. The life of power outlets relies heavily on the quality. To be safe, only install power outlets that are professional grade. These outlets are built to withstand heavy usage since they have a more reliable construction and heavy duty contact areas.