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. By checking tripped circuit breakers, testing outlets, and inspecting light fixtures, you can better diagnose the problem and decide on the next steps.
Visual Inspection
If an appliance, lamp, or device stops working, start by inspecting the outlet and cord for any damage. Now and then, a power outlet may fail and go dead. You might see visible damage, such as discoloration. Similarly, examine all plugs and cords for breaks, fraying, and other damage. When the outlet or cord shows damage, it’s probably time to replace them.
Try a Different Outlet
If your outlet and power cord appear undamaged, the next step is to try your lamp or device in another outlet. It’s vital to determine whether the outlet or the electrical item is at fault. If plugging your device into a different outlet (especially in another room) makes it work, the outlet is the main problem.
Reset the GFCI
A major reason an outlet might stop working is its connection to a tripped GFCI outlet. Many outlets include a reset button. If it’s not visible, the reset button will be on another outlet in the circuit.
The reset button for the entire circuit is on a GFCI outlet, commonly located in bathrooms or kitchens but sometimes in less obvious places like garages or laundry rooms. You might need to look around for it, but resetting a GFCI outlet is a straightforward fix for a dead outlet once you find it.
Check the Breaker Panel
Occasionally, the problem lies not with the outlets but with a bad circuit breaker. Often, you can find the faulty breaker by inspecting your home’s electrical panel. Numerous breaker boxes are clearly labeled to show which circuits serve which areas of the house. If this applies, simply turning the breaker off and then back on can often fix the problem. There are cases where the breaker itself is faulty or has a loose connection. If that occurs, the breaker must 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.
When troubleshooting doesn’t fix the non-working outlets, your landlord must call a professional electrician. Either way, clear communication with your Cypress property manager is crucial for swift electrical issue resolution.
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Originally published: April 2, 2021
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