Help...electrical and plumbing!

Since returning to the U.S., I've spent over $3,000. on plumbers and electricians.

I lost all my appliances at once while overseas and no one knows why. A handy man found a lose common and ground wire and things have improved. This is after a $500.00 bill for an electrician. Mr. Electric. All the guys look like male models.

However, yesterday I lost my third micro-wave. A co-worker says she has lost three phones and a television.

It is impossible to figure out what to do. We have electrical storms and I think I lost my central air during one of those storms. However, the appliances were lost a few days later. One electrician said it was a "lull" the other said a "surge". I'm not sure what either mean.

I've spent over $2,000. on plumbers. They took a video tape, then lost it. They back washed things. Then they said the clay pipe was gone and it would cost over $3,000. to fix things.
I've spent so much of band-aid fixes after asking them to repair things when I had the money.

All the good workers are in Louisiana or new construction. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Since returning to the U.S., I've spent over $3,000. on plumbers and electricians.

I lost all my appliances at once while overseas and no one knows why. A handy man found a lose common and ground wire and things have improved. This is after a $500.00 bill for an electrician. Mr. Electric. All the guys look like male models.

However, yesterday I lost my third micro-wave. A co-worker says she has lost three phones and a television.

It is impossible to figure out what to do. We have electrical storms and I think I lost my central air during one of those storms. However, the appliances were lost a few days later. One electrician said it was a "lull" the other said a "surge". I'm not sure what either mean.

I've spent over $2,000. on plumbers. They took a video tape, then lost it. They back washed things. Then they said the clay pipe was gone and it would cost over $3,000. to fix things.
I've spent so much of band-aid fixes after asking them to repair things when I had the money.

All the good workers are in Louisiana or new construction. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, Peggy...

I have fixed a few household appliances from time to time, and I know how to put a telephone extension anywhere in my house but that is about the limit of my hands-on household electrical experience.

I am nowhere even CLOSE to being an electrician.

However, I have heard of your problem and understand some of the theory behind it. This is not rocket science; my guess is that you just don't know who to talk to yet OR you are not able (or willing?) to pony up enough $$ to get the top-notch pros interested in your problem.

Here is my theoretical understanding:

GROUNDING

All electric current needs to follow a path to the appliance or machinery it powers, and then it also must follow a path to what is called "ground."

I can't explain it well enough to you online, but I can describe what it looks like to most folks:

* At my house you will see a metal spike driven deep into the ground with a wire cable from the house attached to it. When done properly, the house is grounded.

* Sometimes when you are walking along the street, you'll see one of those electric-power poles that stand 30 feet or so above the ground.... and then you'll see a thick cable extending diagonally from into the pavement - and buried in the ground below.

Both of these are examples of a grounding attachment. It completes the circuit for proper flow of electricity.

Without a proper ground, you get all kinds of glitches and problems. A poorly grounded house will be vulnerable to LIGHTNING STRIKES!!! I suspect this is what's frying your appliances. During a bad rainstorm, lighting will generate 20,000 to 100,000 volts of electricity. If it comes into your house through the electrical wiring, you are gonna lose EVERYTHING that's plugged into an outlet. :eek:

Read the links at the bottom of this page and you'll see that you live in the worst area of the country for this sort of thing - the Southeast.

SURGES
A big enough surge definitely will wreck all unprotected appliances.

A surge in electricity means a sudden increase in the amount of electricity coming out of your outlet. If rainstorms are not the issue, frequent surges could mean that the electricity coming to your house is "dirty" or isn't properly regulated by the utility.

In the USA, the standard amount of household electicity is 120 volts. This is what the TVs, stereos, irons and all the smaller applieances run on. A small amount of variation will sometimes occur and is normal. In my house, I've watched the electricity (on a meter) dance around from 110 volts to 130 volts or a little higher. For most appliances, this is not a big deal.

What IS a big deal is when the power surges WAY too high for your appliances to handle. A surge from 120 volts to 240 volts or higher will KILL most of your appliances. They weren't meant for that. For whatever reason, this is what's been happening to you. :eek:

The fact that your co-worker has lost 3 phones and a TV might mean that your local power company has a problem. Or it could mean that your co-worker also has problems with her household wiring too. Please talk to at least 4 other people on your block who own NICE houses, and ask if this has happened to them too. If so, you can probably guess that your power company is screwing up somehow. Not 100% proof though. If the homeowners you talk to also haven't had good suppression equipment and grounding work installed in their homes, they will be having trouble too.

How to protect yourself in the meantime
Until you can get some pros in there to straighten this problem out, Peggy, please stop paying electricians and STOP buying new appliances. :eek:

What you can do for yourself immediately is to buy a Surge Protector (or suppressor). I use one for our main household computer and another for our flat-screen TV/dish TV receiver/DVD player hookup. It simply protects expensive electronics from surges - but not necessarily the worst (lightning) ones. The one we use for our TV is called "Monster Power" and it's a power strip combined with a Surge Protector meaning that we have 6 or 7 outlets for the different home theater components combined with surge protection.

I recommend that you:

* get one for your TV/Stereo/DVD player.
* get another one for your computer.

These are most important since they are typically the most expensive appliances.

Finally, get another one for your microwave since that repeatedly gives you so much trouble.

If you need to skimp because you can't afford 3 surge protectors at once, I recommend you try this: unplug your microwave and leave it that way except when you actually need to cook something. And DON'T use it during a rainstorm. Again, lightning strikes that hit your electrical wiring and come into your home will definitely fry your appliances. This is like hooking up 20,000 volts of electricity to appliances that only need 120 volts. :eek: :eek:

Now these devices only protect your smaller portable appliances, Peggy. They do nothing for your washer, dryer, range, etc. You still need professional help. Again, if there's simply no money to get the help you need, unplug that stuff when it's not being used. Again, DON'T plug it in during a rainstorm unless you want to lose another $300 range or $200 electric dryer, etc.


FINALLY:

Please, please, please.... get someone serious in there to look at your home. Who is the guy who worked on the Clintons' home when they were living in your state??

Someone out there fixes the expensive, OLDER homes of rich people. Your job is find out who that guy or gal is. Just be prepared to pay, that's all.

If you need to get someone honest and competent to drive in there all the way from Little Rock, pay him for his driving time and gasoline. It'll save you money compared to paying the local idiots to do and re-do a job 4, 5 or 6 different times.

I will post more info as I find out more.

Good luck. :)


http://www2.sea.siemens.com/Products/Residential-Electrical/Product/Surge-Protection/Protection_at_the_Point_of_Entry.htm?languagecode= en

http://www2.sea.siemens.com/Products/Residential-Electrical/Product/Surge-Protection/Protection-at-the-Point-of-Use.htm?languagecode=en

Wow. I agree that you should keep your unused appliances unplugged until you actually need to use them. And never use your appliances during a thunderstorm. It sounds like a grounding issue to me. Is your house on a hill? Also, if money is an issue, don't replace your washer and dryer for now. Use a laundromat instead.

I wish that you would leave that part of Arkansas... :(

Peachy once posted on here about a home warranty. I don't know if it will cover you in a situation like this, but it may well be worth looking into. Repairs would be covered under the warranty. You might want to PM Peachy for more information.

Thanks for the information. The plumbing is the main issue now. I'll check into the home warranty. I've heard about that before.

God bless.

Another thought is for you to visit your city or town hall and talk to the building code enforcement department people. Tell them your troubles and ask them for advice in finding good honest repair people that are licensed and skilled. Tell them what you have been through. I'm sure that someone there can help you out.

Another thought is for you to visit your city or town hall and talk to the building code enforcement department people. Tell them your troubles and ask them for advice in finding good honest repair people that are licensed and skilled. Tell them what you have been through. I'm sure that someone there can help you out.

LOL If Peggy lives in some tiny hayseed town, at least some of those "enforcement department people" are probably brothers, sisters and in-laws to the folks who've been screwing up her house so badly. :D

What state are you located in?
She lives in Arkansas.