Calling An Emergency Electrician During A Water Leak And Other Solutions To Power Problems | Myrtle Beach, SC

4/24/2021

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Do you have an emergency electrician’s number handy? For most people, it’s hard to imagine something will go dangerously wrong with the power. Properly installed electrical wiring and equipment are so reliable and safe. Still, problems do arise and our Mister Sparky emergency electricians here in Myrtle Beach, SC are ready to take action and protect your family and property against the dangers involved.

When Electricity Combines with Other Factors, Trouble Can Arise

A lot of the reasons for calling an emergency electrician are “electricity plus” situations. Electricity plus water or another material that could conduct the power and lead to electric shock. Electricity plus wood, paper, hopefully not propane or natural gas, where electricity-generate heat or sparks could start a fire or explosion. An emergency electrician is trained to deal with urgent situations involving electricity, so even for people who have some understanding, calling an experienced professional is the safest bet.

When Water and Electricity are Present Together, Call an Emergency Electrician

If your pipes spring a leak inside the wall, there’s a good chance that water and electricity will meet. Water could seep into light fixtures, sockets, even light switches. Since water, especially water that has picked up additional material as it flows, can conduct electricity wherever it goes, you have a broad area of potential danger for family members. If anyone touches a wet area, accidentally or in an attempt to take action, a danger exists, and standing in water can also present a problem. Only an electrician can evaluate the dangers, correct them, and make sure that in the process of drying out the area additional risks have not been created. The material carried by the water may introduce corrosion into the fixtures and wiring that present both near-term and long-term dangers. This is why flood remediation has to be so thorough to bring the building back into safety compliance.

The Dangers Sparks Present

The classic situation where a gas leak lurks silently until the unsuspecting homeowner flips a light switch and the resulting sparks provide ignition is only one risk sparks present. There are many materials in your home that are potentially flammable. Sparks from improper electrical connections, loose wires shorting together, and other intermittent electrical contacts can ignite powdered materials such as sawdust, floor sweepings, even material removed from your AC vents. It can trigger sudden flames from spilled flammable liquids such as paint thinner or nail polish remover and ignite vapors of these chemicals that remain on your clothes after working on the car or lawnmower or doing your nails. An unexpected place that you may find sudden ignition is when you place these clothes, still with flammable vapors, into your dryer and hit start. In some cases, caution is your best solution, since many electrical appliances can create sparks internally. If you see sparks or hear them in your home’s wiring or other inappropriate places, a call to the emergency electrician may be in order.

When Power Creates Heat

Another way that electricity serves when under control but can also create dangers is by creating heat. When power flows through your space heater or stovetop, the heat created is in a carefully designed appliance. When the heat comes from bad wiring where corrosion has built up resistance, the poor conductivity that results from a connection that’s not directly between two pieces of the same metal, it can be a problem. In fact, if enough current flows through a wire, it can heat up even though it’s a pretty good conductor. That’s why your higher-powered circuits require a thicker gauge wire. Bottom line: wires can get warm or hot, and when they do, they should get checked out by an emergency electrician. The same goes for outlets, switches, and fixtures. Once things start to get warm from a bad connection or similar problem, they tend to get worse, so don’t wait.

Hidden Electricity Problems

You don’t have to wait until you see a problem to call. Many electrical problems don’t occur in places where you can check to see if they’re hot, observe and hear sparks, and smell strong electrical smells. Sometimes the clues will be subtle or easily ignored, such as the occasional flickering light, a vague electrical smell, or a switch that seems to do nothing. Devices that don’t work as they did before, appearing dimmer or with motors struggling a bit, may be drawing more current and starting to warm the wires that connect them. At some point, trouble may appear. This isn’t a haunted house scenario, it’s a sign of older, improper, or damaged wiring or equipment. An emergency electrician can measure current flow and perform some quick detective work to determine if there are hidden dangers connected to your house wiring.

In the Aftermath

After a lightning strike in the Myrtle Beach, SC area, or a house fire, flood, or other damage to your electrical system, it’s essential that an emergency electrician isolate and repair the damage before you use equipment in the affected area. Even if outlets still work, the chance of corrosion and heat is significant, and the last thing you need is another disaster. Our team can inspect and, if necessary, rewire areas of your home that need it, and give you peace of mind for the future.

The Reason for Rewiring

Damage to your electrical system causes it to no longer operate as expected. The water, fire, or other damage has introduced variables and risks that can limit the amount of current it can safely carry, cause short circuits unexpectedly, or heat up in the walls instead of simply turning on the lights. More powerful connections such as your dryer and stove can have dramatic problems due to the high current involved, and voltage variations may damage equipment. Call our skilled Mister Sparky of Myrtle Beach electricians to evaluate your situation and make sure you’re all safe.