So you have a plug that isn’t working. Don’t worry. It isn’t the end of the world. You don’t have to immediately call an electrician.
Here are a few things you should do before making that call.
- Hit the reset button. Many receptacles have a direct reset. You’ll find these in the bathroom, kitchen, and any outside your home. It can often be hard to push the button, but if you are firm, it will give way.
- Reset the breaker. If the lights have gone off, you’ll need a flashlight. Look closely at the breaker panel to see if there is a breaker flipped. A flipped breaker will either not sit like the others, or you will see it as a different colour. Make sure you pull the breaker to the off position before returning to an active state.
- Replace the Fuse – If you have a fuse panel instead of breakers you will need to inspect the fuses to replace a blown one. Make sure any fuses that you replace are done so with the same size fuse. Putting the wrong fuse in will either make it blow to fast, or not at all when it should.
If you have done all of these steps and the power flips off again, then test to see whether the equipment you’re using causes other outlets to fail. If nothing will fix your problem then you may want to think about dialing for assistance.