You and your family rely on your electrical wiring to supply you with all the great modern luxuries you enjoy in your home. Unfortunately, if your home is older than 10 years of age, there is potential that you have out of date wiring and may be putting your home and family at significant risk. Too often this problem goes uncorrected until it is too late because your wiring is out of sight and often out of mind.

Here are a few of the top dangers that can come with old electrical wiring in your home:

Circuits are easily overloaded

As time has gone by we have increased the amount of electrical appliances we use, and the frequency in which we use them. Older systems were not designed to handle as much electrical capacity as we need today. This often results in your electrical system becoming overwhelmed and overloaded. Whenever you overload your electrical wiring it becomes dangerous in more than one way. This is because firstly, it will be unable to accommodate your needs and will shut down, this can come with consequences to your appliances, especially computers. Secondly, your wiring will heat up, getting warmer and warmer as it struggles to fulfill your electrical needs. This reaction of heating increases your risk of a fire.

Aging Protection

Up until about ten years ago, most home’s electrical wiring systems used a rubber protective coating for the wires. Unfortunately, this rubber protective coating is not strong and over time will deteriorate to the point that it crumbles away. Without this protective coating your wire will become exposed, increasing the chance of fire in your home. The modern wires we use today are coated in PVC. PVC poses a much smaller risk of deteriorating and leaving exposed wires. If your home was built anytime over ten years ago, you might want to look into getting it rewired.

Outlet shortage

Are you overloading your home with extension cords? Is every outlet being forced to pull the weight of three outlets? Old electrical wiring for homes was designed based on a far smaller need for electricity, often meaning that older homes can prove a bit of a challenge when it comes to getting all of your power needs met, frequently requiring the extensive use of power cords. Power cords should only ever be used for short-term situations, as they pose a significant safety risk, so rather than have to navigate all of those cords everyday, go ahead and get your home rewired, as it will be the safest thing for everyone who lives at your house.