Many homeowners don’t realize they’re living with a serious electrical hazard right inside their walls: ineffective grounding (or worse, no grounding at all).

Electrical grounding is the process of directing excess electrical current safely into the earth (in other words, the ground). It’s a foundational safety feature of your home’s electrical system—designed to protect both people and property.

Here’s the basic idea: Electricity always looks for the path of least resistance. If a wire or appliance malfunctions, current can leak onto metal surfaces, like the casing of a toaster or the body of your washing machine.

This is where the third prong on your outlet comes in. If an appliance breaks and is plugged into a properly grounded three-pronged outlet, the electricity flows through that third prong and safely back into the ground.

We get it—grounding doesn’t seem like a big deal until something goes wrong. But the truth is, an ungrounded home can silently chip away at your safety and your wallet. 

Some people assume that if their outlets have three prongs, they’re grounded. But looks can be deceiving. Without an electrical ground tester, you simply can’t know for sure.

In many cases, a home’s outlets have been upgraded cosmetically—but the wiring behind them never was. That means you might be plugging into a three-prong outlet with no actual grounding behind it.

At WIREONE, every service call starts with a Residential Safety Inspection. We’ll perform a thorough safety check of your home, including checking the integrity of your grounding system. 

If our inspection reveals that your home has no grounding—or that your current grounding system is compromised—don’t panic. We’ll walk you through your options and create a plan that fits your home and timeline. In many cases, we can install new grounding wires, rewire specific circuits, or upgrade your entire electrical panel to bring your system up to modern safety standards