Water in plug socket noise? Water and electricity are never a good idea. The noise is due to a short circuit occurring inside of the socket between the live wire and neutral or earth. This post aims to shed some light on what you can do and what it means for your home electrical system from the point of view of an electrician.
What Is A Short Circuit
The most likely reason why you can hear a noise in your plug socket is that there is a short circuit occurring.
A short circuit happens when there is contact between the live wire and phase or earth.
A short circuit tends to release a lot of heat and also make a sound. If the short circuit isn’t stopped then there is also a risk of a fire occurring.
Regulations exist to protect your home from short circuits occurring. The way that short circuits are interrupted are with circuit breakers and residual current devices (when the short circuit is between phase and earth).
In older homes with plug-in or re-wirable fuses, it may take much longer for the fuse to blow and interrupt the short circuit. This increases the risk of a fire occurring.
When Urgent Action Is Required
A circuit breaker is designed to act quickly in the event of a short circuit. This is supposed to be within a fraction of a second (0.4s) which is enough time to stop a fire.
If you can hear the plug socket making a noise or fizzing and a fuse or breaker hasn’t tripped then you might need to act urgently as there is a risk of fire.
If the noise doesn’t stop, you should turn off the main switch which will be labelled.
Doing this will disconnect power to the plug socket containing water. You should then call an electrician to come and rectify the problem as soon as possible.
Here is what the electrician will probably do, based on my own experience as an electrician.
Water In Plug Socket Noise? – Fix #1
Check Fusing In Switchboard For Problems
The electrician will check whether the fusing in your switchboard is up to scratch which it probably won’t be if water in the socket hasn’t tripped the breaker.
For older switchboards, an RCD or modern MCB might need to be installed. This will protect the house from burning down or someone from getting a shock. RCD’s are a relatively new invention but are a legal requirement for most circuits in the home (depending on jurisdiction). Once the fusing has been checked and is adequate for the circuit the next thing the electrician will do is check the plug socket which has water in it.
Water In Plug Socket Noise? – Fix #2
Dry The Plug Socket
If the outlet hasn’t burnt out, it might be possible to simply dry the plug socket – with the power turned off, of course. To do this, unscrew the plug socket and remove any water which may be inside the socket or in the flush box holding the socket.
Water In Plug Socket Noise? – Fix #3
Replace The Socket
If the outlet looks burnt, melted, smells or it seems impossible to get the water out, then it is time to replace the socket with a new one.
Conclusion
Water in plug socket noise? If a breaker has tripped, you might be able to simply dry the socket (power off, of course). Otherwise if a breaker hasn’t tripped, your fusing should be updated and the socket should be replaced.
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