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What Are The Signs Of A Potential Electrical Fire Hazard? · Lipps Electric Podcast

• 0:01
  The electrical systems in our houses are very convenient, but they're also quite dangerous.
• 0:07
  They can cause fires. We hear about it all the time.
• 0:11
  I've asked Kevin Lipps to join me from Lipps Electric today to dive into this
• 0:17
  subject matter. Kevin, how are you?
• 0:19
  I'm awesome. Thank you, Jim. It's great to have you here. What are the signs
• 0:23
  of a potential electric fire hazard?
• 0:26
  Yeah, there's a few. They all should be pretty noticeable, though.
• 0:31
  So, you know, you'll notice frequent breaker tripping.
• 0:36
  You'll smell burning. It could be of a device, an outlet or a switch or even the light source.
• 0:43
  And if you don't have a clear source, it can very likely be electrically related.
• 0:49
  You could see discolored or charred outlets and switches.
• 0:53
  And a common one that people don't think about a lot because the parts in the
• 0:57
  system don't really move a lot is loose and worn out outlets and think about
• 1:02
  where you always plug in your vacuum.
• 1:05
  Every time you plug that thing in and out, the tension of that device weakens
• 1:10
  a little bit and that can cause the internal components within that device to
• 1:15
  loosen, which can cause,
• 1:17
  loose means possible arcing, which can lead to sparking and,
• 1:22
  you know, the fire side of it.
• 1:24
  So, you know, it fires always a major risk in homes.
• 1:27
  There's over 28,000 home fires annually.
• 1:32
  And the other thing is, you know, as the systems age or if water did get in the system.
• 1:38
  So we see this a lot in electrical panels and service entrances where it wasn't
• 1:42
  watertight from or the watertight wore off. Um, that water will run through
• 1:48
  those wires and can get into the panel and, and rust it out.
• 1:51
  So if you have any rusting or any, any of that corrosion in there,
• 1:54
  that is part of the same system.
• 1:56
  That's part of, that's a problem that should be fixed.
• 1:59
  Hey, you know, I was just thinking about something. I've seen so many pictures
• 2:03
  of mice, rats in some parts of the country, lizards in the South, um.
• 2:10
  That get into a panel and they get on the wrong side of two different contacts.
• 2:17
  Yes. Yeah. So if you smell something in your panel, you might have something cooking in there.
• 2:22
  It really could be that. Yeah, we've seen it. We definitely have seen that.
• 2:26
  Yeah. And anything when it pertains to your electrical system could cause a fire.
• 2:35
  We've talked about the importance of making sure the gauge wire is correct,
• 2:39
  that the breaker size is correct, that you're not plugging in an appliance that
• 2:44
  draws too much on a 15 amp when it really should be 20.
• 2:48
  And if you have no idea what I'm talking about or what Kevin's talking about,
• 2:53
  you need to call Kevin and his team at LIPS.
• 2:55
  All of his information is located in the podcast description,
• 2:58
  just one click away. And it's really important. It's, it's a major system in
• 3:05
  your home, probably the most dangerous to you and your family.
• 3:09
  Yeah. And, and don't forget the most neglected. I'm going to preach that to
• 3:13
  the, to the rooftops because it is so true.
• 3:16
  Um, think about the last time you had your electrical system looked at,
• 3:19
  you know, and, and part of when we come out, we'll do an initial diagnostics of, of your home, um,
• 3:26
  and, and check the panel, check, check your utilities side of things and,
• 3:30
  and make sure it is operating, and we'll give you recommendations on what we
• 3:35
  should do to improve the system as well.
• 3:37
  It's kind of an out of sight, out of mind type thing.
• 3:42
  If your air conditioning system or heating system fails, you're going to feel
• 3:46
  that pretty quickly. If your plumbing's not working correctly,
• 3:49
  you're going to feel that quickly.
• 3:51
  The electrical thing, it doesn't really make noise, shouldn't,
• 3:54
  and it generally does work pretty well.
• 3:57
  There really aren't physical moving parts you can see.
• 4:01
  And people take it for granted. But like anything else, you maintain your car,
• 4:08
  you maintain your air conditioning system and heating system.
• 4:11
  You go to the dentist maybe twice a year for maintenance. You go to the doctor
• 4:15
  possibly once a year for an annual physical.
• 4:18
  Why aren't you doing the same thing for something that could literally shock you to death?
• 4:24
  Or burn your house down, or both. So seriously.
• 4:29
  Absolutely. And we do offer a home care program. So it is something that would
• 4:34
  give you priority scheduling and a lot of other benefits.
• 4:37
  And it comes with an annual review of your system.
• 4:41
  And it's worth every penny, something I would really recommend to anyone out there.
• 4:47
  If you care for your home, If you care for your family and your pets,
• 4:52
  I would suggest that also, if you're thinking of putting your home on the market,
• 4:55
  I think it's a great thing to do, to have a report sitting on the kitchen counter
• 5:01
  that the realtor and the potential homebuyers can see.
• 5:04
  Everything from your HVAC checked out to the roof checked out ahead of time
• 5:09
  to the electrical system and plumbing.
• 5:11
  I just think it makes it easier for someone to make a decision saying,
• 5:15
  these people care about this home. I'm buying something. It's like buying a used car.
• 5:21
  People look at the facts like the Fox report and so forth, whatever.
• 5:25
  It's just wise. You want to know what's been going on with the home.
• 5:28
  And if people have been maintaining the inside and the outside and inside the
• 5:31
  walls, it's a better purchase. For sure. I totally agree.
• 5:36
  Yeah. Hey, Kevin, thanks for joining me today. Really appreciate it.
• 5:38
  Great. Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.