Water damage is frequently visible as stains, broken furniture, mould, and a musty odour. What happens to your electrical wiring after floods is less evident. To maintain the safety of your home's electrical systems after flooding, it will likely be necessary to replace your electrical wiring, even if it was only temporarily damaged.
Despite being insulated, electrical wiring can nevertheless be damaged by water to the point where spark risks make use risky.
Does Water Damage Destroy a House's Electrical Wires?
Your wires can be destroyed by water damage, but it's not always simply the water. It's crucial to keep in mind that a flood doesn't necessarily involve clean water gushing into your house. Floods, particularly those caused by natural disasters and storm surges, may contain a variety of contaminants, including gas, oil, chemicals from agriculture runoff, and even sewage. Even if the water itself can be harmful, the actual cause for concern may not even be the water.
Electrical Evaluation Following Flood Damage
Have a certified electrician visit your home to do an electrical test after a flood before using any of the electrical items there. To precisely locate your wiring after a flood, electricians can perform a number of tests. Therefore, it's advised that you at least take into account changing your wiring in the impacted area even if it passes the different safety inspections. This is because corrosion may persist over time, diminishing the safety levels of your wires even if they function at a safe level right away after flooding has happened. After examination, professional electrician can assist in describing what, if anything, you'll need to do next to maintain the safety of your home.
Following a Flood, Do You Need to Repair the Electrical Wiring?
Your cables will probably need to be replaced even if they were only momentarily flooded. The likelihood of the insulation on your wires deteriorating will be higher if there has been standing water within your home for a lengthy period of time.
Steps for Raising Outlets on a Wall
If your neighbourhood experiences frequent flooding, raising outlets above the normal flood level is one method some homeowners use to prevent water damage. For your basement or other regions that can flood more frequently, this is an excellent idea. For the receptacle boxes, new holes must be cut in your plasterboard, and the old ones must be patched. Wires are then run to the new position, outlets are correctly connected, and the system is verified by plugging in a device or by using a multimeter. A project like this should only be handled by licensed electricians.
It's also critical to understand that increasing your outlets won't completely address the issue. Your cables and outlets may still be damaged even if they are raised during flooding, which can happen for a variety of different reasons. Raised outlets can still sustain harm if the source of the water is an above leak like a pipe burst. As wiring that remains in a shared flood zone will still be at risk, it must be raised to match the raised outlets.
