Local electricians are warning homeowners across Lubbock about the dangers of having outdated wiring.
“It’s incredibly important to keep your wiring up to date. After 30-35 years the electrical system is shot and it’s time to replace things like plugs, switches and especially panels,” Rudy Arellano, an Electrician at CMW Electric said.
Todd Marshall, owner of Marshall Electric said faulty wiring can be indicated by flickering lights or hot plugs.
CMW said both older homes and newer homes need to be examined for electrical wiring issues because if a home has faulty wiring it can result in fires.
“Wires create heat and that’s the biggest thing. When the system starts getting old and things start failing, when you have those loose connections within many types of plugs and switches and anywhere that you have electricity going, that’s when you start to have those fire problems,” Arellano said.
Arellano said when wiring, faulty or not, if near or around water it can become very dangerous and even deadly.
“Water is incredibly conductive, it has a very low resistance when it comes down to it, so electricity can travel through it very easy. Your body has a considerably higher resistance to it, but if you are in water electricity tries to take the path of least resistance so it will pass through water and go directly to you,” Arellano said.
