I've been having some serious electrical issues that started yesterday when I tried to use my dryer. I loaded it with clothes, pressed start, and all I got was a hum or buzzing sound. Usually, this is no problem at all, but I also noticed the lights in my laundry room flickered when I hit the start button. Then, everything seemed to escalate throughout my house. Here's what's been happening:
1. The dryer won't start at all now.
2. Both garage lights blew out, and I just replaced the bulbs last week.
3. My garbage disposal switch doesn't turn the disposal on anymore; it just makes the lights above my stove and under the microwave flicker from dim to super bright.
4. Every light inside and outside the house occasionally bursts to an extreme brightness, so I turned off the porch lights to avoid alarming neighbors.
5. I have a small fan next to my bed that randomly spikes to the highest setting instead of staying on low.
6. I had to move my router out of the spare room because it kept tripping the breaker whenever a large appliance kicked on.
This all started around 5PM yesterday and is still ongoing. I'm really not comfortable dealing with electrical issues and would appreciate any advice!
2 Answers
It sounds like you might have a problem with one of the power legs being faulty or intermittent. This can happen due to bad connections starting from the street, the meter, breaker box, or even the main breaker itself. If you're not knowledgeable about electrical work, it's best to call an electrician to investigate further.
Also, that burst of brightness could indicate neutral issues, which can create problems if one of the 120V legs spikes to 240V.
Your neutral wire is probably loose, leading to these electrical quirks. It's definitely time to call the power company or an electrician. Make sure you tell them you suspect a neutral problem. It's urgent to avoid using high-power 120V devices like heaters or cooking appliances until this gets fixed, as it could damage your other equipment.
I think you might be onto something here.