Why does my outlet spark when I plug something into it?

Consistent outlet sparking is not something you should ignore. It’s time to investigate the common reasons this happens . . . and offer solutions.

Why Does My Outlet Spark? Common Causes

1. Moisture
   • Water can be the most dangerous thing around insufficient electrical outlets. If you want to eliminate sparks and make your kitchen or bathroom much safer, install more Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs).
2. Running Current
   • Sometimes minor sparks are not a safety issue, if you can eliminate all other factors. Running current can cause sparks when electricity attempts to meet metal (when you plug in something) to complete its circuit.
3. It’s Too Old
   • Even the modern GFCI outlets will wear out, eventually. The estimated life cycle for outlets ranges from 15 to 25 years, but you may need to replace them sooner if you’re getting a lot of breaker trips.
4. Short Circuiting
   • Short circuiting happens when an electrical current cannot meet its intended circuit whenever there’s insufficient resistance. The outlet itself could be the culprit, but it’s also common to find this problem with faulty/loose wiring.
5. Poor Installation
   • If you hire an unlicensed electrician or try to install things by yourself, it can lead to terrible consequences. This is true of home wiring, outlet installation, and many other components.

Why Does My Outlet Spark? How to Resolve the Problem

Teague Electric can help you put an end to this sometimes dangerous problem. Our electrical repair services can resolve problems like sparking outlets, dead outlets, loose wiring, old wiring, overloaded circuits, and more.

As always, we can’t overemphasize the need to partner with a reliable electrician for problems like these. It’s dangerous to try electrical repairs alone even if you watched a YouTube tutorial. Plus, if we can resolve everything with just a few outlet swaps, the service price probably won’t be as steep as you thought.

Older Home Issues

While it’s possible to encounter outlet trouble in any home, we notice this issue much more often in older homes. By that, we mean the houses that are at least four or five decades old, and have lots of obsolete wiring and circuitry.

• Ungrounded Wiring – This is actually another wiring and outlet issue. Older homes might have obsolete outlets, the ones missing the third grounding prong. If that’s the case, you’re at a much greater risk for arcs, shocks, and fires.
• Insufficient Electrical Output – When the earliest homes first received electricity, they only had a capacity of about 60 amps. Nowadays, with modern electrical equipment, you need roughly double that volume.
• Energy Inefficient Fixtures – To make matters worse, the older, insufficient circuitry also struggles to meet today’s energy efficiency standards. Teague Electric can help you conquer this problem with new wiring, better outlets, panel upgrades, and more.
• No Home Automation – While this isn’t a mandatory element, it’s a big demand item these days as folks recognize the value of upgrades like Smart Lights. We install a system, Control4, which lets you control all of your electronic equipment from a single device.

Teague Electric: Kansas City’s Best Electrical Company

Do you think your home needs a few new outlets to prevent constant sparking, scorching, and other troubles?

If so, then we’re happy to help you solve these problems. That’s what we’ve been doing since the late 1970s, and to the satisfaction of thousands of homeowners in the KC metro area.

You should only work with an electrician, like ours, who has all the requisite training, licensing, bonding, and insurance to work on complex electrical systems. Teague Electric, a company with an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), offers this crucial service at an affordable rate.

Contact us today to answer the daunting question: Why does my outlet spark when I plug in a device?