Beware of short-circuits during rain

Chennai: Wet walls after rain can cause short circuits and can even lead to fire, as it happened at a house in Thoraipakkam on Wednesday.Kanagaraj was relieved that he deep-cleaned his house and repaired electronics and electrical appliances after four feet of water that flooded the rooms receded. He plugged in the refrigerator on Wednesday morning. Little did he know that it would cause a short circuit. The entire wiring went up in flames. He managed to switch off the power. But it was too late.Beware of short circuits if your house was inundated or if you can see wet patches on your walls. Water will be trapped inside damp walls, and when it gets in contact with live wire, it will cause a short circuit, and if you do not switch off the main power supply immediately, the house can even catch fire, warn experts. Electricians have been busy attending to wiring and switchboard faults in areas affected by floods. “During rain, it is more common to have damp walls. Water can get inside switchboards, which can trigger short circuits inside a house. When a more power-consuming appliance like a geyser or refrigerator gets plugged in near a damp wall, the circuit gets more loaded. Then, a short circuit occurs,” said K Krishnamoorthy, an electrician from Vadapalani. He has done rewiring at seven houses in the past few days.Switchboards with more power-consuming devices can trigger the short circuit. Water being a conductor of electricity, the wiring will heat up more, adding to the problem. People should be careful when using geysers or air conditioners when the wall is damp and should use a tester to check if there is power leakage, he said.But how can it cause the entire wiring to go up in flames? “The wiring inside the wall is connected to all the appliances. The casing of the wiring would have loosened up, causing the dampness or water to seep in. This will cause the current to spread, causing a short circuit, which in turn can cause heat and fire. If the walls are damp in multiple places, the water could have leaked inside those places too,” he added.“I have to rewire my three-BHK house. It will cost 8 lakh,” Kanagaraj said. “Packing of walls with more water-proof material and plugging of all possible sources of leaks is important,” said Sampath S, an electrical engineer.
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