Electrical Outlets and Covers

For some, dealing with outlet covers and electrical outlets is old hat. For a lot of people, however, it can be a daunting task. This is often simply due to the close proximity of all that electricity, and those holes that, at a young age, most of us learned to stay away from. The fact is, electrical outlets are nothing to be afraid of, as long as you are careful.

Outlet Covers
Many times, when dealing with electrical outlets, the job you're looking to do is purely superficial. Changing or installing an outlet cover is a snap, and it can truly affect the look of the room. At the most, replacing an outlet cover is a two screw job; however, many outlets only have one screw, which literally cuts your work in half!

Outlet covers are changed for more than just aesthetic reasons. People concerned about the safety of small children can, for about $4, install a sliding cover that blocks those dreaded holes when they are not in use.

Electrical Outlet Replacement
While replacing an entire electrical outlet is more involved than replacing just the cover, once you know what to do, it's a fairly simple operation.

The first step is to turn off the power to that outlet. In many homes, the switches in the circuit breaker are labeled to show which room they connect to. In older homes, there might not be this kind of diagram; if that's the case, it could be in your best interest to make one yourself for future reference. Anyway, trial and error will work for the first time. It's good to have a partner to tell you which lights are going off.

Once the power is off (and it is very important to make sure it is), you can remove the cover and unscrew the mounting screws. Don't unscrew any of the wires yet, just the mountings!

Now you can pull out the electrical outlet from the wall and compare it to the one you are going to replace it with. Note carefully which wire goes where, then place the wires on the new one as such.

Put the new receptacle back into the wall; replace the mounting screws and the cover. you've now successfully replaced an electrical outlet! Now all you have to do is go and turn the power back on. It's a good idea to unplug any especially noisy devices before you do this, or you might get a jolt of a different variety.

Circuit Breakers
If the problem doesn't lie in the outlet, it might be a larger problem. When you check the breaker box, if a switch is already in an "off" position, that's probably where your "faulty" outlet lies. After unplugging all appliances, go back and turn the switch to "on". If it immediately goes back to "off", this problem most likely lies in wiring that most people can't fix themselves; an electrician should be called to get a professional opinion.

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