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By
Home Inspector with Complete Home Inspections, Inc. TN Lic#050
painted gfci device

Every now and then I run across a home owner who likes to color coordinate their outlets to match the color of their walls. This is definitely not a good idea and especially when it comes to GFCI outlets. When these are painted over, the paint will often jam the mechanical test and reset buttons. If the buttons are jammed, the device may fail to trip resulting you going z-z-z-zt, which is not a good thing! I consider these a safety hazard and I recommend replacing the device.

This posting and the contents written here are the intellectual property of Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc. providing home inspections for Brentwood, Nashville, Davidson and Williamson Counties of Middle Tennessee. The views and opinions expressed are just that - views and opinions of Michael Thornton and those who comment.  This post is a contribution to the ActiveRain Real Estate Network.

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Complete Home Inspections, Brentwood TN 615.661.0297
 

Comments(8)

Kevin Corsa
H.I.S. Home Inspections (Summit, Stark Counties) - Canton, OH
H.I.S. Home Inspections, Stark & Summit County, OH Home Inspector
This is definitely good advice. I always recommend replacement of painted over GFCI outlets for safety.
Mar 24, 2008 10:25 PM
Nannette Turner
eXp Realty LLC - Lynchburg, VA
Online Marketing Home Ownership Advocate Specialis
I hate it when folks paint the outlets and the light switches.  Not only is it not fuctional it just looks yucky too. Mike I always enjoy tuning in to your morning pictures.
Mar 24, 2008 10:33 PM
Joseph Ellman
Realty Executives- Williams-Sykes Realty - Poughkeepsie, NY
Michael - Once again - solid advice!!  Thanks for a great blog!
Mar 24, 2008 10:39 PM
Melissa Grant
A Serendipity World - Greenbackville, VA
The Law of Attraction In Life & Business
I had a home inspection where the inspector wouldn't test the outlets until they were replaced because they looked like this picture !
Mar 24, 2008 10:45 PM
Gary McAdams
GMAC Schwartz Property Sales - Key West, FL
That's a good picture, as usual.  Until I read the posting I didn't realize it was a GFI the pain had covered it so much.  The things a home owner will do.
Mar 24, 2008 10:49 PM
Vincent McKamy
Samson Properties - Fredericksburg, VA
Realtor Fredericksburg Virginia

Another great photo - I have seen this myself quite a few times - It's scary to think that people are not considering this when they paint over them. 

Thanks for the photo and the posting.

Mar 24, 2008 11:38 PM
Charlottesville Solutions
Charlottesville Solutions - Charlottesville, VA

Funny how they painted and then put the cover back over it...

Your Friend in Charlottesville Virginia!

Mar 25, 2008 12:06 AM
Sean Allen
International Financing Solutions - Fort Myers, FL
International Financing Solutions

Very true Michael. I have never understood why people paint the outlets other than pure LAZINESS.

Sean Allen

Mar 26, 2008 01:12 AM