Bad things don’t happen on a schedule, and sometimes you need an electrician all hours of the day. You never know when a breaker will blow, a power outage will turn off your furnace and air conditioning, or a storm will damage your electrical wiring. The best thing you can do is make sure that you know the signs of trouble with electrical appliances and have an electrician on speed dial.
Here are four reasons why you might need to call an electrician any hour of the day:
1. When the circuit breaker keeps tripping
The first thing you should do is reset the circuit breaker by turning it off for a few minutes and then back on again. Even though nothing seems wrong, it might be time to call an electrician from Encino if this repeatedly happens because your wiring needs some TLC. It could be that there are too many appliances plugged in and drawing power. It could be that your electrical panel is old and needs to be upgraded for safety reasons.
Your circuit breaker is your safety release from the electrical outage, and it needs to be reset when there is a power surge. It overheats when it has to continuously stop the flow of electricity because there is too much going through. This could happen in a storm where lightning hits a telephone or cable wire that crosses into your house or garage. No matter what, if you have this problem, call an electrician.
2. When you notice a burning smell or see sparks
Your oven, toaster, or microwave can heat up quickly and send out sparks when burned-out parts aren’t replaced in time, but your home appliances usually do not emit smoke or sparks. If you notice either of these, you need to unplug the appliance and call an electrician immediately. For appliances that plug into a wall outlet, such as microwaves and coffee makers, unplug them – don’t yank on the cord – so there is no chance of getting zapped while unplugging them. If you have an electric range, get a friend or family member to help you move the plug out of the wall.
3. When the lights flicker
Natural disasters cause not all power outages. Sometimes, your home appliances are to blame for a brownout or blackout. If you notice that your lights flicker off and on when an appliance is running like in the middle of the night, this might be happening because you have overloaded circuits in your electrical panel. When this happens, it means that your wiring is about to give out, and you need to contact an electrician as soon as possible.
4. If your electricity doesn’t work at all and there’s no power outage
If your neighbors have electricity, but you don’t, call your electric company first because this could be a problem with your meter. If there’s no power outage, you might have a bigger electrical issue going on in your home, and you need to call an electrician immediately.
If you notice any of these four signs, don’t hesitate to hire a 24 hour electrician right away. Save the number of your electrician in your cell phone, so you can dial it immediately when something goes wrong. An electrical emergency is never convenient, but you will be glad to trust someone when the unexpected happens.
