If you’re having a serious electrical problem in your home, there are three things you need to do:
(1) Figure out if it’s a genuine emergency and take some basic steps
(2) Call 128 Plumbing so we can send one of our Wakefield electricians out to help
(3) Do some electrical prep work before the Wakefield electrician arrives.
Let’s start with #1. Sometimes it’s tough to know whether a problem constitutes a real emergency, so let’s cover some of the most common electrical emergencies and talk about recognizing them and the steps you need to take.
Is Your Home Situation an Electrical Emergency?
Power Failure Services
The first thing you need to do is check out the other homes and businesses in your neighborhood. Are their lights out, too? If they are, your primary goal should be to call your utility to get an estimate of how long the outage will last.
You should also take some basic weather protection steps, especially during the winter. Making sure windows and blinds are shut can seal in extra heat if the outage is going to last, and if it’s warm you may want to crack those same windows to cool things down and get some basic air circulation.
Burning Electrical Wires
If you smell burning wires, you’re definitely in a real electrical emergency, so don’t hesitate. Cut your power, call 128 Plumbing, and grab your fire extinguisher just in case your Wakefield electrical emergency turns into an electrical fire.
It’s also not a bad idea to call emergency electrical services, just to alert them about what’s happening.
They might not need to come out right away if the problem is small and isolated, but putting them on standby notice is a sound precaution.
Getting Services for a Noisy Breaker Box
Most people are familiar with the clicking sound that comes with a breaker being tripped, but many don’t realize that breakers are equipped with a failsafe system that activates a buzzing noise when the breaker isn’t working properly. If it starts going off, call us right away.
Hot or Smoking Outlet in Wakefield
Outlets that fail don’t automatically constitute an electrical emergency, but if the outlet is smoking or hot to the touch that changes things completely. Cut your power and call us immediately; if the outlet is smoking or emitting flames, this situation is potentially life threatening.
Electrical Services When Your Lights Go Out
Having an electrical light bulb fail in Wakefield is a normal replacement event, but if multiple lights start going out around your house, it means there may be a problem with your service line that’s causing an overload. It’s definitely an emergency electrical situation, so call us right away.
Electricians Wakefield for a Hot Service Panel
If your service panel is hot to the touch, it usually means you’ve got extra current flowing through them that’s causing an overload. You may also see frayed wiring coming out of your panel and brown spots around the edges, so call us right away and turn off all appliances.
What You Should Do Before Your Emergency Electrician Arrives to Provide Services
{1) Stay Calm and Attentive
It’s easy to panic during an electrical emergency, but panicking serves no legitimate purpose, and in certain situations it can even make the emergency worse. If you panic you may miss something important—e.g., buzzing noises, breakers tripping, etc.—that our electricians need to know about right away when they arrive.
(2) Turn Off the Electrical Power and Unplug All Appliances
It definitely takes presence of mind to follow this precaution, but it’s important. It can help prevent electrical breakers from tripping, and depending on the kind of emergency and how bad the situation is, it can even help you spend thousands of dollars by helping you preserve your appliances and devices.
Doing this is especially important if the emergency is based on a burning smell or a noise and you’re not sure about the source.
Declutter the Work Space for the Electrician Providing Services
Some electrical emergencies are amorphous enough that it’s impossible to know where our Wakefield local electricians will be working, although your electrical panel is a likely starting point.
Other times, though, it’s easy to know the location in advance, and a quick cleanup to declutter the area can be invaluable.
An outlet that’s hot to the touch would be a good example of this, and in some electrical emergencies every second you save will end up being important.
Remove Children and Pets from the Emergency Area
This one may seem obvious, but sometimes there’s so much going on during an electrical emergency that getting kids out of the affected area can fall through the cracks. Consider it part of your basic safety procedures; you’ll be glad you did.
Don’t Touch Any Electrical Objects
Humans are curious creatures that tend toward problem solving by nature, and there’s often a desire to try to solve an electrical issue even if you have no idea what the solution might be.
Don’t touch anything. That natural instinct can get you shocked and hurt, and it can also make the emergency worse. There’s a reason you called 128 to send out an electrician, so hold back and wait so the emergency can be solved.
Prepare Electrical Emergency Tools
If you don’t have a fire extinguisher as a precaution against an electrical emergency, this is the part where we warn you that you should. If you do, make sure it’s handy just in case, and you should also have flashlights available if necessary, too.
Contact Emergency Personnel
Sometimes people call on us to send an electrician out, and while they’re waiting the emergency gets worse. If this happens, be sure to act immediately, whether that action involves calling the fire department to help handle an electrical fire or making a 911 call if anyone has experienced an electrical shock as part of the emergency.
The best way to deal with an electrical emergency is not to have one, and the best way to do that is via a great maintenance plan.
At 128 Plumbing, our maintenance plans are among the best in the industry. You can get them specifically for your electrical system, and we also have plans that will cover your whole house, including your HVAC system, any issues after installation and your plumbing as well.
These plans are a small investment that can pay off in a big way The numbers are (888) 419-4233 or (781) 670-3261, and when you contact us, we’ll answer your questions and help you make the best possible decision.
To get more information, you can also go to 128Plumbing.com and start a live chat, and we have some great blogs and articles there to help educate you about electrical emergencies and Wakefield local electricians.
