Being electrically safe with GFCI
by Frank Ross

 

Stop. Take a moment to think.  Remember the last time you were in the kitchen or bathroom.  Did notice an electrical receptacle that has two small buttons on it - one labeled “test” and the other “reset?” Do you know what this receptacle is and how it works? Do you know that it should be tested monthly?

This kind of receptacle is called a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, or G.F.C.I.  According to OSHA 1910.399, a ground fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI, is defined as “...a device whose function is to interrupt the electric circuit to load when a fault current to ground exceeds some predetermined value, that is less than that required to operate the over current protective device of the supply circuit.”

Or to put it another way, GFCIs are designed to shut off electric power within as little as 1/40 of a second. It works by comparing the amount of current going into the electric equipment to the amount of current returning from the equipment along the circuit conductors. If the current exceeds six milliamperes, the GFCI interrupts the current to prevent electrocution.

Or to put it yet another way, GFCIs save lives.

A GFCI should be checked each month, and after a severe thunder and lightning storm, to ensure proper operation.  A simple way for a home owner to test a GFCI is by plugging a night light into the GFCI receptacle and pressing the test button. The light should go out and stay out until the reset button is pressed. The GFCI is defective if the light does not go out and stay out until the reset button is pressed, or if the test button cannot be depressed, for example from painting over the receptacle, or if the reset button will not reset the GFCI.  Consumers should not rely on a GFCI that fails this test. A qualified electrician should inspect, possibly rewire, and, if necessary, replace the unit. Proper installation of GFCIs requires significant knowledge of electrical wiring and should only be performed by a qualified electrician.

A single GFCI can protect several receptacles so you may find one receptacle is protecting more than one bathroom. You may also find a GFCI breaker in your electric panel. This GFCI breaker should have a test button on it. To test this breaker, press the test button, then take your night light and check the receptacles associated with this breaker to see that the electrical power has been shut off. To reset a GFCI breaker, you should find the breaker handle in the mid position. You need to push it to the full “off” position then to the full “on” position. Using your night light, check the receptacles for power again. If the power has been restored the unit is functioning properly. If the breaker will not reset or if the power doesn’t go off at the receptacle or come back on then have a licensed electrician replace the breaker.

Where should you find GFCI protection? Anyplace that there is or could be a wet or moist environment such as around the bathroom sinks, kitchen sinks, in a garage, crawlspace, basement, around a swimming pool, hot tub or spa, a jet tub in the bathroom, a water feature, laundry sink to name a few.

It is not a good idea to plug a freezer or refrigerator into a GFCI protected receptacle, such as the spare unit in the garage. It is common for a freezer or refrigerator to trip the GFCI due to the start up surge when the compressor comes on interrupting the power to the item.   If the freezer or refrigerator is in the garage it is possible that this could go undetected for some time until some unknowing person opens the door on the unit and finds it full of spoiled food.

If you live in an older home where no GFCIs are installed do not be deceived that just because you or a loved one have not been injured that it will not happen. Electric shocks are responsible for about 1000 deaths in the United States each year, or about 1% of all accidental deaths. Believe it or not, in a 1950’s home inspected recently, I found one receptacle in the kitchen hanging out of the wall next to the sink with a computer type surge protector strip plugged into it.  And into that surge strip the occupants had plugged the toaster, coffee maker and an extension cord. The extension cord ran across the counter top to power the washing machine! It was about the most unsafe situation you could imagine. The situation could have been corrected, and the occupants of the home made safer, by repairing the electrical outlets and upgrading at least one of them to GFCI. The expense to upgrade existing outlets to GFCI protection is minimal compared to the cost of someone getting hurt.

Consumers should consider the GFCI as a back-up safety device, and not a replacement for common sense and prudent behavior whenever using electrical products. Wherever water and electricity are present, consumers need heightened awareness and should follow the safety instructions that came with the appliance.

Frank Ross is a Certified Utah Home Inspector for Pillar to Post Professional Home Inspection and a full member of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors and a member in good standing with the Utah Better Business Bureau.  Readers may contact Mr. Ross at (435) 867-6400 or frank.ross@pillartopost.com