If you are dealing with electrical issues in your rental property, such as flickering lights, non-working outlets, or circuit breakers that frequently trip, you may be looking for ways to address them.
While ensuring safety and considering a licensed electrician for major issues is important, there are troubleshooting steps you can take for common electrical problems. Following these steps, such as checking tripped circuit breakers, testing outlets, and inspecting light fixtures, can help you understand the issue and decide how to proceed.
Visual Inspection
When an appliance, lamp, or electrical device stops working, first check the outlet and cord for damage. At times, a power outlet may malfunction and become nonfunctional. Signs of damage, like discoloration, may be noticeable. In the same way, check all plugs and cords for any breaks, fraying, or damage. When the outlet or cord shows damage, it’s probably time to replace them.
Try a Different Outlet
When your outlet and power cord seem intact, the next step is to try your lamp or device in a different outlet. It’s important to find out if the outlet or the electrical item is the source of the issue. If your device works when plugged into a different outlet (preferably in another room), then the outlet is the main issue.
Reset the GFCI
A major reason an outlet might stop working is its connection to a tripped GFCI outlet. The majority of outlets come with a reset button. If you can’t find it, another outlet in the circuit will have the reset button.
The circuit’s reset button is located on a GFCI outlet, often in the bathroom or kitchen, but sometimes in more hidden spots like the garage or laundry room. It might take some searching, but once found, resetting a GFCI outlet is a simple fix for a dead outlet.
Check the Breaker Panel
Sometimes, the issue is not with the outlets but with a defective circuit breaker. By examining your home’s electrical panel, you can usually determine which breaker is bad. Circuit breaker boxes often have labeled circuits indicating which areas they cover. When this is the case, turning the breaker off and on again can often solve the issue. In other instances, the breaker might be defective or have a loose connection. If this happens, the breaker will need to be replaced.
Call Your Landlord
Whatever electrical issue arises, make sure to notify your landlord and explain both the problem and your troubleshooting attempts. If such problems happen often, it could point to more significant electrical issues.
If troubleshooting doesn’t solve the non-working outlets, your landlord should bring in a professional electrician. Either way, clear communication with your Kingfisher property manager is crucial for swift electrical issue resolution.
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