Discoloration, ruined furnishings, mould, and a musty odour are common indicators of flood damage. What’s less visible is what happens to your electrical wiring after flooding. If your home has been flooded, you should replace the electrical wiring immediately, even if it was only damaged momentarily.
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Water can cause enough damage to your wires, even if they are insulated, that using them poses a fire hazard.
Does Flooding Destroy Home Wires?
The wiring in your home are susceptible to water damage, but it's not necessarily the water itself that's at blame. Always assume that the water rushing into your home during a flood is dirty. Gas, gasoline, farm runoff chemicals, and sewage are just some of the toxins that can be carried along in floodwaters. Even though the water itself is harmful, the actual worry may be something else carried in by the water.
Examining the Electrical System After Flooding
Before turning on any of your home's electrical appliances after a flood, have a qualified electrician check the wiring. After a flood, electricians can conduct a battery of tests to determine the precise condition of your wiring. Nonetheless, it is still recommended that you at least think about replacing the wiring in the affected region, even if it passes the numerous safety inspections. This is because, even if your wires function normally immediately after a flood, corrosion may persist over time, diminishing their safety levels in the long run. Your electrician will be able to help you understand what, if anything, needs to be done after an inspection to ensure the safety of your home.
Must Wiring Be Replaced If It Gets Wet?
If your wires were submerged in water, even for a short period of time, you will certainly need to replace them. The insulation on your wires is more likely to deteriorate if your home has been exposed to standing water for a long time.
A Method for Raising Wall Plugs
Some people who live in flood-prone areas try to reduce the likelihood of flood damage by installing electrical outlets at a higher elevation. If your basement or another part of your home frequently floods, this is a smart move. It requires making new holes in your plasterboard for the receptacle boxes and fixing the old ones. After that, outlets are installed and tested by plugging in an appliance or using a multimeter to ensure correct voltage and continuity. Only qualified electricians should work on electrical wiring.
Also, remember that simply increasing your outlets won't do the trick. It's possible that even if you elevate your wiring and electrical outlets, they could be harmed in a flood. If the source of the water is an overhead leak like a pipe rupture, raised outlets can still be harmed. Elevating the wiring to match the new higher outlets is also necessary because it is still at risk if it is located in the typical flood plain.
