What should I do if an outlet in my house doesn’t work?

While many people tend to overlook electrical outlets that seemingly don’t work, it’s always wise to have an experienced electrician examine a non-working outlet. There are a few things you can do first, however, to be sure that an outlet is truly not working. Plug a small lamp into a working outlet and turn it on. Then, without turning the lamp off, unplug it. Plug it into the non-working outlet and flip all the wall switches in the room. If any of the switches turn the lamp on, you’ve found your solution. If you try all the switches and the lamp still doesn’t turn on, check the electrical panel for tripped circuits and reset if necessary. If you’ve tried all the above steps and the outlet still isn’t working, contact residential electrician who can properly diagnose the problem.