Home Electrical Routine Maintenance

Are you cleaning out areas of your home for Spring Cleaning? This is the time of year when most people are clearing out the clutter, tossing unnecessary items and rearranging home decor. With all of this attention on your home, now is the perfect time for routine maintenance of your electrical system!

Here is a basic checklist for homeowners wanting to review their electrical system.

Outlets: use a receptacle tester to make sure your electrical outlets are still grounded. If you do not have a receptacle tester, use a small electronic device such as a cell phone charger. You want to make sure each outlet has the ability to charge your phone.

Receptacle Tester
Receptacle Tester

GFCI Outlets: test all of them by using the test/reset buttons. First, hit “test” which turns off the power to the outlet. Then, plugin in a small device to ensure there is no power coming through the outlet. Last, hit “reset” which should restore power to the outlet and plugin the small device again. This time, the device should work. GFCI outlets are required near water, in rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms. If any are not working, we recommend replacing them immediately.

Smoke Detector: use the button on your smoke detector to test and ensure it still operates correctly. Pressing and holding the test button for a few seconds should trigger the alarm and cause a VERY LOUD siren noise. Pressing the test button a second time should turn off the alarm. In any case, you should refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for best practice in testing. – More info to come on smoke detectors in an upcoming blog! Stay tuned!!

Outside Electrical Circuits: you can use a receptacle tester and/or a small electronic device such as a radio or phone charger to make sure the circuit is still working.

Switches: turn on light switches you haven’t used in a while, replace any old/non-working bulbs, possibly upgrade to LED.

Electrical Panel: also known as your breaker-box, perform a visual scan for burn marks. If you see any form of damage, do not touch the panel. We recommend contacting a licensed electrician immediately.

Attic Fan: If your house has one, test to see if it still operates normally. Make sure to open all windows before turning on the fan and while it is in use.

Ventilation Fan: this is a great thing to have in a bathroom, test it to see if it still works (we hope it still does 😊).

Request an Electrician

These are all good things to check as routine electrical maintenance for a home. However, we know that some of these items are tedious and can be time consuming. If you need a routine maintenance check performed on your home by a licensed electrician, give us a call at 913.944.9940 or submit a service request online. If you’d like to know what customers think of In The Light Electrical, LLC, take a look at our reviews on Facebook and Google. You can also view our customer recommendations on Nextdoor.