What Should You Do If You Get Water in an Electric Outlet?

Scenario:

You were washing the dishes in the sink but a mishap occurred. The spoon you were washing projected water into a nearby outlet. The outlet seems to be a little wet but if you clean it up it should be fine right? What should you do?

Safe Practices

Before anything, avoid touching the outlet by all means. To be safe, turn off your breaker box. Let the outlet dry if it is minor water damage. Call an electrician to look at it and don’t use it. Follow your electrician’s instructions from there.

If the amount of water is very minor and didn’t into the circuits, you can try to let it dry although most electricians don’t recommend doing so.

Unsafe practices

Mistakes that people make are touching the outlet, using the outlet, and not getting a professional to look at it after.

Why must we be cautious?

Water is a good conductor of electricity. Electric current may still be flowing through the circuits. By touching water that touches electricity, you can become electricity’s path to the ground.

What are the consequences of unsafe practices?

By touching or using a wet outlet, you can suffer injuries like an electric shock, burns, or death. In addition to causing pain and numbness, an electric shock will burn you where the current entered and left your body. In a worst-case scenario, it can cause severe internal injuries to blood vessels, nerves, and muscle tissue. You may also experience an electric fire or a short circuit that will damage your appliances.

What are the recommended safety measures?

1. Do not touch it.
2. Shut off the breaker and fuse boxes for that outlet.
3. Get professional help, call an electrician.
4. Depending on the water damage, replace or repair your outlet.
5. For your safety next time, do not get water near your outlets or any electric appliances.

Sources:

https://www.servicemasterrestore.com/servicemaster-restoration-by-emt-los-angeles-county/why-us/blog/2022/april/10-common-places-to-find-water-damage/#:~:text=A%20homeowner%20can%20dry%20an,to%20speed%20up%20the%20process.

https://www.actelectricians.com/blog/what-to-do-if-a-gfci-outlet-gets-wet#:~:text=Dry%20out%20the%20wet%20electrical%20outlet&text=For%20minor%20water%20damage%2C%20either,has%20suffered%20significant%20water%20damage.

3 Ways to Deal with Wet Outlets

https://www.briggselectrical.com.au/2022/10/11/ask-emergency-electrician-4-ways-deal-with-wet-outlets/#:~:text=Water%20and%20moisture%20in%20electrical,can%20even%20start%20electrical%20fires.

https://energized.edison.com/stories/electricity-and-water-a-dangerous-combination#:~:text=Water%20is%20an%20excellent%20conductor,through%20you%20to%20the%20ground.