02/26/2024
Handyman Tip of The Week - Don’t Get Electrocuted in Your Own Kitchen or Bathroom!
So it turns out that just after Benjamin Franklin figured out that electricity really is very useful and powerful, he also discovered it’s also really painful and can possibly kill you.
To protect you from being unalive, someone after Ben invented the GFI. A GFI is just a fancy name for a special kind of electrical outlet that has two buttons on it. If you go into your kitchen or bathroom and there’s an outlet within 6 feet of your sink, that outlet should have two buttons, one which says “Test” and the other says “Reset”.
What a GFI does is very simple. Let’s say you have a sink full of water. And let’s say you are making toast. ( I have no idea why you are in this situation, but stay with me.) Now, let’s say you accidentally drop the plugged in toaster into the water in your sink. That’s bad. Really, really bad. And I am not talking just because you now have soggy toast.
The electricity will quickly travel through the water and do a lot of damage to what is currently your healthy body.
But wait! There’s good news.
The GFI will detect this and immediately turn itself off so you don’t get electrocuted. Yea GFI!
Now two things you should know:
First, if you ever have outlets in your house that are suddenly not working, before you call us, check the GFI’s in the kitchen and the bathrooms. Sometimes GFI’s will turn off for reasons other than your soggy toast. When the GFI turns off, this will typically turn off other outlets as well. To fix the problem, press the reset button on the GFI. This should turn on the GFI and all other attached outlets as well. If that doesn’t work, call us because your problem is bigger.
Second, If you have an outlet within 6 feet of a water source you must have a GFI by code. If your bathroom or kitchen doesn’t have at least one, you are risking electrocution. They are relatively inexpensive to put in. Call us and we’ll put them in for you.
Got questions? Just ask. Happy to answer any of them.
Call Glenn Again Handyman and Home Services – CA License #1104607 www.CallGlennAgain.com 619-786-5662