Electrical safety after water damage is one of the most overlooked parts of home recovery. When your house takes on water, the first thing you notice is the mess, wet floors, ruined stuff, that smell starting to kick in. What you might not notice right away is the electricity. That’s the sneaky part. It doesn’t take much moisture hiding in a wall or outlet to make a bad day way worse.
Why Electricity and Water Don’t Mix
Once water gets into the walls, it goes everywhere it shouldn’t. Behind baseboards, inside outlets, even around wiring you can’t see. You think it’s dry because the surface looks fine, but inside it’s not. Electricity moves through damp areas like nothing, and all it takes is one small spark to cause a shock or fire. You could be looking at:
- A live outlet you thought was safe to touch
- Breakers that stop working right
- Wires that corrode and heat up later
- A panel that quietly rusts until it fails
What You Should Do First
Don’t rush. Look around before you touch anything. If you see standing water near outlets or cords, step back.
- Kill the power, but only if you can reach it safely. If it means stepping into water, don’t do it. Call your power company instead.
- Unplug things that aren’t soaked. If it’s dry and easy to reach, fine. But don’t go moving heavy stuff or yanking cords.
- Leave switches and lights alone. Wet wires behind the wall can still be live even if they look fine.
- Get an electrician before turning anything back on. A quick inspection could literally save your house.
Where ERX Comes In
After things dry out, that’s when Emergency Restoration Xperts (ERX) steps in. Their crew doesn’t just clean up the mess, they use special tools to check for water hiding behind outlets and under flooring. Sometimes the wiring looks fine until they test it and find moisture deep inside. That’s where fires start weeks later if nobody checks.
ERX works side-by-side with electricians to make sure your home is safe before power comes back on. It’s one of those things that’s easy to skip but really shouldn’t be.
How To Keep This From Happening Again
No one plans for water damage, but you can make your home safer:
- Keep cords and outlets higher if your area floods often
- Seal cracks where water sneaks in
- Install GFCI outlets near sinks and laundry rooms
- Have your wiring checked after every major storm
When To Call ERX
If water even came close to your electrical system, don’t guess, call. It’s not worth the risk.
Emergency Restoration Xperts (ERX) is on call day and night to handle the drying, safety checks, and full cleanup.
You can reach them anytime at (828) 639-8208 for fast, certified help.
For more detailed electrical safety guidance after floods or water damage, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resource: https://www.cdc.gov/natural-disasters/response/what-to-do-protect-yourself-from-electrical-hazards.html