You may be surprised to learn that the number of people willing to perform do-it-yourself electrical repairs at home grows greater every month. Many consumers, in an attempt to save money in difficult economic times, think they can do without hiring an electrician to perform simple tasks at home.
It may be easy to dismiss this issue as a passing phase. It may also be easy to think that most people would be mindful of their own safety and would take no risks even when performing the simplest electrical repair task at home. Unfortunately that is simply not the case.
There is, as the movie of the same name tells us, a clear and present danger. Performing even the simplest electrical repair in the home can be fraught with danger and difficulty and when you weigh up the odds you should come to the conclusion that unless qualified repairs are performed, you may have a ticking time bomb in your house.
Let’s take a simple example like changing a faulty electric light switch. This is probably one of the more common repair jobs that home handyman like to attempt. It seems like a relatively straightforward process and many websites are available to offer step-by-step instructions. But before you embark upon this apparently simple task consider the following.
Are you competent enough to do a voltage test on the line and determine what would cause the line to not register?
Can you check the circuit breaker or fuse to make sure it is in good shape?
Are you even competent enough to use a voltage tester?
When replacing a three-way switch with red, black and white wires do you feel competent enough the future of machinery to strip the end of the wires, wrap them around the screws and tighten them back up again?
What do you do if things don’t work after you have done your ‘repair’ job?
These are but a few questions which need to be answered and even if you are able to answer yes to all most of these questions, the final question remains: do you feel competent enough to perform these repairs and guarantee the safety of your family?
The most vital question to be asked when the issue of the do it yourself repairs arises is clearly one of safety. Whilst it is true that using an electrician may cost a hundred machine components pdf dollars for even the simplest task, think of it as an insurance policy that guarantees you and your family’s safety by having repairs done properly and professionally.
It seems like a no-brainer when deciding to spend such a small amount of money for the peace of mind it actually brings.
Whilst the Internet can be a great source of helpful information, you can in no way be assured that what you are reading is actually safe to perform. We have all heard horror stories of children who found recipes for explosive devices on the Internet only to discover that they lead to deadly results.
