3 Things You Need to Do in an Electrical Short Circuit

Being a homeowner can be a great pleasure. However, no one could deny that managing your own property can come with a whole wealth of serious responsibilities.

You need to be prepared for anything when it comes to your home, and that certainly includes being aware of what to do in the case of an electrical short circuit. Electrical emergencies are all too common, and failure to know what steps to take could be potentially serious.

In fact, issues left unresolved could even lead to an electrical fire and other serious consequences. 

What do you need to know about how to fix an electrical short circuit? What should you do if you find yourself in this position? Read on and we’ll walk you through the basics.

1. Determine the Problem Circuit

You’re operating as you would at home when all of a sudden everything shuts down. You’re left in the darkness, wondering what happened. It can be an alarming moment, but your calm will be needed.

The first thing you’ll need to do is to determine which circuit in your home is the one that shorted out. While all circuits likely shut down as a precaution, in most cases, there will be an individual circuit that really experienced the problem. 

Go to the electrical service panel in your home and inspect the circuits. The one that is responsible should be flipped, indicating it was the one that experienced an issue. 

Turn off that circuit breaker and make note of which part of your home it was servicing.

2. Source the Problem

Now that you know which circuit was the issue, you should be able to source what led to the short. Look at everything that is plugged in around your home at this circuit. 

Is there something requiring a high wattage that might have done the trick? Sometimes a powerful lamp could do it, a high-energy device, or something like a hairdryer. 

If something like this was plugged in close to the time of the circuit shutting down, it is likely the cause. Move the device to a different circuit and make note that the circuit in question is close to capacity.

3. Further Inspection

What if there is no obvious cause of the short circuit? In this instance, further inspection might need to be done. You might need to look behind the various plugs and outlets to see if there is some kind of damage done to the system.

Inspecting the wiring of your electrical circuit might also be necessary.

If you don’t have any experience with this kind of work, you may need to call in a professional to manage this kind of inspection. Professionals like those at these services should be able to manage the job with ease.

Fixing an Electrical Short Circuit

What should you do if you experience an electrical short circuit in your home? It can be a huge interruption. The above steps will provide you with a simple way to work through the issue at hand.

Doing this kind of work can help to preserve the safety and well-being of your home.

Need more advice for the home? Keep scrolling our blog for more.