Easy Steps in Replacing Electrical Outlets

Information may not be reliable

There are many Clearwater FL home inspectors, such as Properly Inspected that can let you what type of shape your electrical outlets are in. If you are not comfortable in changing out your outlets, there are many home inspectors Clearwater FL that will be happy to give you names of good contractors to help you.

Not Holding Snugly

When outlets no longer hold a plug snugly in place, it is time to replace them. The procedure is similar to that of replacing a switch.

On each side of the duplex receptacle is a pair of terminal screws. The upper screw is connected to the upper outlet and the lower screw is for the lower outlet. A metal break-off tab that connects the screws helps you to attach a single wire to either screw and feed electricity to both outlets. If the tab is broken off, you can connect the upper/lower outlets to separate the wires. If the receptacle is wired to the end of a series of receptacles, it will have two wires that can be connected to it in order to carry current to the next receptacle.

The important point to remember is that the black or colored wires attach to brass screws and the white wires attach to the silver screws. The colored wires are located in the holes behind the brass screws and the white wires are located in the holes behind the silver screws. DO NOT attach a white wire to a brass screw or a colored wire to a silver screw.

Steps to Replace Standard Duplex Receptacle

To replace a standard electrical outlet duplex receptacle, these steps should be followed:

• Make sure to turn off the power to the receptacle from the main fuse or circuit panel
• Unscrew and remove the cover plate
• Using a voltage tester, make sure that the circuit is completely dead
• Unscrew the receptacle from the electrical box and pull it out with the wires still being attached
• Make sure to remember where the white and black wires are attached
• Remove all of the wires
• Look at the old receptacle to see if the break-off tab connecting the two sets of terminals on each side of the receptacle is broken off; if so, remove the tabs from the new receptacle by breaking off the tab and bend it back and forth until it breaks off completely
•  Attach wires to the terminals of new receptacle
• If wiring has green ground wire, attach it to the green terminal to receptacle or onto the electrical box
• Push your new receptacle back into the electrical box and screw it into place
• Screw on the cover plate and then turn on the power back on

Conclusion

Replacing an electrical outlet is not as hard as it may seem but if you are uncomfortable is replacing it, do not do it. If you are comfortable in making the repairs yourself, you can simply follow the above steps and be back on your way.

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