Test every GFCI outlet
Incomplete GFCI protection shows up in more than eight in ten homes we inspect. It's the outlet feature that keeps a hair dryer in a sink from being a fatality.
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- Find them. GFCI outlets have TEST and RESET buttons. Code wants them in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, laundry, unfinished basements, crawlspaces, and outdoors. One GFCI often protects several ordinary outlets downstream.
- Plug something in and press TEST. The lamp should go dark and the RESET button should pop out. If the lamp stays on, the GFCI is not protecting anything and needs replacing.
- Press RESET. Power should return. If it won't reset, the device has failed or there's a fault on the circuit.
- Check downstream outlets. With the GFCI tripped, test the other outlets in that bathroom or on that wall. The ones that went dark are protected by it. The ones still live in a wet location are the gap your inspection flagged.
- Check the breaker panel too. Some homes use GFCI breakers instead of outlets. Same test button, same idea.
- Do it monthly. The trip mechanism wears out silently. Thirty seconds a month is the whole maintenance plan.
When it's past the do-it-yourself line
Replacing a GFCI outlet is a common electrician call and a reasonable DIY for someone comfortable working with the breaker off. Adding protection where none exists, or anything involving the panel, is electrician work.
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