What To Do If A Power Outlet Stops Working
Power outlets usually work without fail, so discovering that one seems to no longer work can be extremely frustrating. While you might feel annoyed at this problem, it could also pose a risk to your household. Here's what you should do in this situation.
Stop Using the Outlet
First things first: don't mess around with the outlet in an effort to get it to work again. If it's not working now, removing and re-plugging things isn't going to help. In fact, it might make matters worse.
Although the cause can differ wildly depending upon your wiring, the age of your home, and the condition of the outlet, when an outlet stops working, it may be due to your wiring developing a problem, like arcing electricity, or the outlet itself being damaged. So you don't want to be messing around with it. If you have to handle anything or remove plugs that are already in the wall, wait until you've completed the next step to do it.
Shut Off the Power
For your own safety, you should shut off the electricity to the room that has the power outlet that's damaged. This may be a small nuisance, but it's better than potentially risking a house fire or electrocution. Go outside or to your basement and find your power breaker box. Shut off the breakers one by one until the lights in the room that have the damaged outlet go out. Leave this breaker off and turn the rest of the back on. This should allow you to enjoy electricity in all the rooms in your house except the one with the damaged outlet.
Call an Electrician
Next, call an electrician for electrical repair. Considering that the problem that's causing your outlet to not work is unknown at this time, you don't want to try resolving the problem on your own unless you happen to be a licensed electrician yourself!
Your electrician will come out and examine the outlet and run a few tests to determine if the wiring is working. If everything is fine with the wiring, they'll replace the outlet and you'll be back to normal in no time. However, if there's a problem with your electrical wiring, you'll likely need more work done by the electrician. While this may seem like a nuisance, you should pat yourself on the back right about now. You may have just avoided having an electrical fire start in your home by calling for help when you did.