home improvement: gfci outlets

Tony and I now have functioning GFCI outlets in our bathrooms. I know -- super exciting, right? Safety first.

We bought our house more than a year ago, and our to-do list since then has included the phrase, "replace GFCIs." The home inspector told us that the GFCI in our full bath wasn't working properly, and the outlet in our half bath was just a standard outlet: 

A GFCI cuts off the power to an outlet if it detects a power surge. They're designed to protect electrocutions, like if you drop your hairdryer into the sink. 

I've learned some important things about GFCIs in the last few weeks. Mostly from Family Handyman, which is Tony's favorite home improvement magazine. (I'm more of a This Old House girl, myself.) Anyway, Family Handyman says GFCIs wear out after about 10 years. GFCIs that were installed after 2006 usually have a new function in which the outlets just stop working when they wear out, which forces you to install a new one. But pre-2006 GFCIs don't have that feature, and apparently the test button isn't a reliable way to tell if an outlet is actually working. It sounds like the outlet in our full bath must've been installed before 2006 -- the reset button indicated it worked just fine, but the home inspector was able to use a circuit tester to tell it wouldn't work.

The good news: GFCIs are easy and inexpensive to replace. My dad and Tony did this project together, so I won't pretend to be able to give you advice on how to do electrical work. But I'd recommend calling a handyman or electrician to evaluate the age and functionality of yours.