Electrical Safety Advice – after your home has been flooded

As increasing numbers of households in the UK are battling to keep flood water at bay, you would be easily forgiven for overlooking your electrical safety. However it is important that in the post flood water clean up that you ensure your home electrics have not been damaged by flood water. I work with a growing number of clients across Nottingham, Derby and Mansfield who live near rivers and who have unfortunately been affected by flooding when the rivers have burst their banks. One of the main recommendations I suggest to my clients before carrying out repairs is to have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) carried out on their property in order to ascertain the damage caused by flood water. In some cases, it may just be a case of allowing the wiring to dry out and just simple remedial work such as new sockets that needs to be carried out. In more serious cases, parts of your home may need to be rewired. Always use a quality electrician to carry out electrical work in your home By a quality electrician, I mean an electrician who is both qualified and registered. This is to ensure you are being given the best electrical advice for your home and safe workmanship carried out. This is particularly important when dealing with potentially water damaged electrical systems. Remember, water and electricity do not mix! Before you start cleaning your home Take when clearing flood water and do not plug any electrical appliances in until you are certain it is safe to do so. Check your fusebox/consumer unit Whether your home electrics are damaged depends largely on the level of flood water in your home and where your consumer unit is located. The higher off the ground it is, the better chance it has of being unscathed. You need to ensure your electricity supply is off before you carry out any visual checks. Ensure the large red switch on your consumer unit is in the off position. Next you need to visually inspect the consumer unit for signs of water damage. You might find it helpful to use a torch as you will need to look closely. You need to be looking for water, signs of overheating or arcing. If the water level has been above the consumer unit, I strongly suggest you call an electrician to investigate before using your home electrics. Check Electrical Appliances Before you plug in any appliances, it is important to know if they are safe to use. This is particularly important for appliances that sit at floor level like washing machines, freezers, tumble dryers etc. Aside from visually checking you are not going to know. Again I recommend having large appliances PAT tested. It is far cheaper than replacing appliances that might be safe to use. However never take chances. Appliances that are water damaged can cause electrical injury and shock if you attempt to use them. For ultimate electrical safety Here at Stator Electrical Solutions, we specialise in providing electrical installations that not only meet your needs but protect you against future events. When we carry out post flooding electrical work, we ensure that your home is protected against future floods by installing consumer units and sockets above any anticipated flood levels. We also recommend that your household receives an EICR and PAT testing of all electrical appliances including electric ovens and storage heaters to assess the extent of electrical damage within your property. Stator Electrical Solutions – here for all homes and businesses affected by flooding If you need post flooding electrical advice, please speak to us. Our expert team of electricians can help with all aspects of your domestic or commercial electrical needs.