Flood safety
Walking through a wet or flooded basement can be dangerous. To be safe, you should always assume that basement flood water is energized.
The wiring inside most older houses wasn’t designed to handle the electrical needs we have today. Resist the urge to perform workarounds when doing electrical work inside your home.
In fact, many insurance companies won't cover older homes with knob-and-tube wiring - even if it's been inspected.
If you're not sure what kind of wiring is inside your walls - or if you're considering buying an older home - call a certified electrician to inspect the entire electrical system.
If you're planning a home improvement project, shut of the power at the service panel, and use extreme caution when removing outlets, drilling holes or removing wall boards.
Grounding is another common issue in older homes. Modern homes are required to have a ground connection to ensure that in the event of a short circuit, current will flow through the ground system and trip a breaker or blow a fuse instead of back through the electrical appliance.
However, many older homes have ungrounded outlets - only two slots instead of three - and this can be a problem with all the three-pronged cords that fill your home.
It's tempting to just work around the problem, but keep in mind the consequences can be dangerous.
If you've invested in a computer, a high-definition TV or other sensitive electronics, also keep in mind that power surges carry a greater risk with older, ungrounded wiring. To protect your equipment, talk to your electrician about wiring upgrades and surge protection.
Walking through a wet or flooded basement can be dangerous. To be safe, you should always assume that basement flood water is energized.
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