Smillie Electrical Services

If your bathroom is flooding, you know you need to call an emergency plumber. If your bedroom ceiling has collapsed, it’s obvious you’ll need a builder straight away. But with electrical faults, it’s hard to know if you need to call an emergency electrician, or whether you can just light some candles and call them in the morning. And because calling out tradespeople in the middle of the night – or for any unplanned event – can become very expensive, you don’t want to call your sparky unless you absolutely have too. Use this guide to help you decide if your situation is desperate – or if it can wait.

• Exposed Wires

If you’re seeing exposed wires, you can be sure that something isn’t right. This means that the plastic casing around the wire is broken, and you can actually see the copper wiring within. Whether you’ve accidently dislodged something, or come across them while renovating something else, not only are exposed wires damaging the equipment they are supposed to be powering, but they are also posing a significant fire risk. On top of that, if you touch the wire, you could be at risk of electrocution. As you can see, it’s best to call out an emergency electrician.

• Water Damage

We should all know by now – water and electricity don’t mix. If you’re facing an emergency plumbing situation, and there is a chance that your cables may be damaged at the same time, then you could be in serious trouble. Even if you’ve turned your power off, if water has gotten into your wires then it can become extremely dangerous when turned back on.

• Smoking Sockets

Smoking sockets are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this electrical issue. There are so many things that could be going wrong here, and it’s all happening behind the wall where you can’t see it. The first thing you need to do is stop using that outlet – unplug and turn off anything that is still connected, and then turn it off at the switchbox. After that, you should immediately call out an emergency electrician to investigate the cause of the smoke – it could be anything from a large electrical surge to a fire beginning within your walls.

• Acrid Smells

Generally, smoking sockets will come with a foul smell – however a smell without smoke is still a serious problem. If you can smell something like burning plastic or rubber, it may mean there are damaged wires within your home, which could very quickly become a fire if they aren’t dealt with quickly and professionally. If you can tell where the smell is coming from, shut the power off in that area, and call an emergency electrician right away.

• No Power

This isn’t necessarily the job for an emergency electrician, so it’s worth doing a bit of research first. Power outages can be caused by anything from a storm to trees falling on power lines. Call your domestic electrician first,and check if there are other houses on your street with no power. If you can’t find an answer there, then you might want to call out an expert if you need power straight away.

Calling an emergency electrician can be an expensive solution to a simple problem – especially when a lot of issues are small hassles rather than a hazard. However, if it is serious, then it can get very dangerous very quickly. For that reason, if you’ve noticed one of the problems on this list within your home, then we recommend calling for backup straight away. You’re better safe than sorry.