[jcutler81]

Hello from a new guy,

My wife had a glass of water on her nightstand and last night she tipped it over. It ran down the wall into the outlet. Immediately, all power in the bedroom went out. The lights went off, the fan (plugged into another outlet) went off as well as our clock.

I tripped all circuits on the breaker and even the main switch. Does anybody know what's going on?

Should I replace the receptacle or is the problem bigger?

Thanks for your help.

[lmangileri]

Could it be that the outlet is still wet? Make sure you shut the power off before you do anything but try removing the wall plate and dry it out. If there is usually a glass of water on the night stand maybe you should look into a gfci outlet.

[jcutler81]

So it came back on, I know our bathroom has a gfci outlet and when my wife reset it, it kicked power back on to the bedroom. Could the gfci in the bathroom be connected to all of the outlets in the bedroom somehow?

[KISS]

Yes. GFCI's can be wired to protect all outlets downstream as well.

[jcutler81]

So my thought is that when the water hit the outlet in the bedroom, it tripped them all, now that it has dried and I hit the reset button in the bathroom, I have power back, even in that particular outlet.

So does that mean everything is okay? Should a replace the outlet or leave as is?

[Washington1]

Replace it!

[jcutler81]

Can you explain to me why? I'm sorry I am not an electrician, is there a reason it needs to be replaced?

[stanfortyman]

A) Because a receptacle is a dollar.
2) Peace of mind.
C) If electrical equipment gets wet, by this I mean soaked, it should be replaced.
4) A receptacle is a dollar.


Depending on the age of the installation, it is quite likely that it is a code violation that the bath receptacle/circuit be mixed with receptacles in other rooms, ESPECIALLY downstream of a GFI device.

[Stratmando]

The water caused the hot of receptacle to leak to ground causing it to trip, what I am wondering is how it made your MAIN trip?

[Washington1]

Can you explain to me why? I'm sorry I am not an electrician, is there a reason it needs to be replaced?

I don't believe you have to be an electrician in this case.
I believe Stan covered most of what I would have said. Just to add: Who's to say all the water has evaporated without causing some sort of corrosion.

[KISS]

I think everyone is overreacting, but I'd like a clarification:

What is the "main switch"?

PS:
Corrosion will not occur unless it stays damp. This is water, not Pepsi.
If an electrician has to replace it, it could be $90. That's what an electrician charged an older lady to tighten a screw on a switch.

I'd turn power off. Take off the outlet plate. Look around with a flashlight if your afraid to remove the outlet for signs of moisture. Dry it out with a hair dryer plugged into an extension cord in a workng outlet in another room.

If it were Pepsi, I'd replace it. Water. Just make sure it's dry.

[Washington1]

I think everyone is overreacting, but I'd like a clarification:

What is the "main switch"?

PS:
Corrosion will not occur unless it stays damp. This is water, not Pepsi.
If an electrician has to replace it, it could be $90. That's what an electrician charged an older lady to tighten a screw on a switch.

I'd turn power off. Take off the outlet plate. Look around with a flashlight if your afraid to remove the outlet for signs of moisture. Dry it out with a hair dryer plugged into an extension cord in a workng outlet in another room.

If it were Pepsi, I'd replace it. Water. Just make sure it's dry.

With all the chemicals and pollutants in water, I'm pretty sure it's worse than Pepsi! :p ;) :D

[jcutler81]

Wow, I seriously didn't think this would generate such a response. The outlet is fine, no dampness. It is working fine.

I am not sure how people got the impression that it affected the main switch. It did not. It just affected the whole bedroom.

I hit the reset in the bathroom (which apparently is connect to the outlets in the bedroom) and all is fine.

Code issue? I rent the place. I will let my landlord know, the place is quite old (for this area, about 20-30 yrs).

Thanks for everyone's input.

[KISS]

Actually, I think main switch sent them in a tizzy. I will quote part of your original post.

I tripped all circuits on the breaker and even the main switch.

And I quote post #13.

I am not sure how people got the impression that it affected the main switch. It did not. It just affected the whole bedroom.

Are you confused too or just a little shook up when it happened?