Why my plugs keep tripping?

Have you observed lately that plugs keep tripping in your house?

If you have observed that the plugs in your house keep tripping, you are not alone. Actually we have used tripping of plug as we speak in everyday language. It is the circuit breakers that trip in the little electrical box of your house. An exception might be the GFIC that is connected close to a sink in a bathroom or in a kitchen. This is quite normal reason we get called for. Now, the plugs or breakers can trip for variety of reasons. Faulty circuits, appliances, overload, damaged or for other reasons. We suggest not to ignore any tripping that has happened more than once.

Some of the normal reasons due to which your plugs or breakers can trip are;

Use of portable heaters

Portable heaters need a lot of power to run. Many times, they are put in a plug that has a shared circuit behind the walls. As a result it will not get the enough power and will trip the circuit due to overload or overheat.

Water exposure in kitchen and laundry rooms

If your kitchen and laundry room has GFCI and the breaker in the actual plug outlet is repeatedly tripping, it might be getting exposed to water from somewhere. It can be as simple as surrounding moisture, but it is not advisable to temper or experiment with these GFCI outlets if you don’t have experience and knowledge required to do so.

These can also trip if outlet has issue within itself or insulation of the wiring somewhere in the circuits has worn out.

An appliance can trip a breaker

You might wonder that each time you plugin a specific appliance, your plug is not working. When you plugin another appliance, same plug starts working! It is possible that the appliance has an issue. The wiring or the motor or any other electrical component of the appliance might have failed causing you to think that the plug is not working. Try changing both plug and appliance if you can. You might be able to figure out which appliance is causing the issue. If not settled that way, give our electrician a call.

Overload on a specific circuit

It is possible that sub-circuit in one room of your house is overused. A lot of appliances are connected at one given time in the room. Occasionally the breaker of that room can trip due to overload current. If there is only one breaker tripping and there are a lot of appliances connected at that time, try putting some of the appliances in another room. Common examples of portable appliances that can cause plug tripping are room heaters, clothing iron, body massages, portable fans, portable air-conditioners etc.

If any breaker related to any plug in your house is tripping repeatedly and your plug aren’t working, don’t ignore and settle by just turning it back on. Breaker tripping is an important part of safety plan of your house. The plug and breaker is actually supposed to trip when it finds any unsafe parameter related to heat or current that can lead to a damage or fire in your house.

Give our professional electrician a call at 780-476-1413 and we will be more than happy to solve your plug/breaker tripping issue.