Electrical – I am a cleaner. I apparently got water into an external powerpoint

electricalwater

I need a bit of advice from an electrician. I am a cleaner and was asked by the client to clean her external windows and get rid of any cobwebs. I washed the windows and hosed as many cobwebs as I could from the external brickwork. Later that night the client phoned me and said that they had no power in part of their home and did I wet any areas that I shouldn't have. I don't remember hosing any power points but I may have as I was concentrating on the large amounts of cobwebs and spiders. The client isn't from Australia so I explained that I may have blown a fuse. She said that they had an electrician out and it was more than just a fuse?? Would I have been responsible for damages more than a blown fuse??? She has guests coming tomorrow, hence the window cleaning, now she says the electrician can't get there until the following week, so her guests now have no power to their bathroom and spa. If it's my fault of course I'm happy to pay but I don't see how I could have caused more than a blown fuse even if I did get water into the point. Please help as soon as possible. I've got to go back there in the morning.

Best Answer

External power outlets should be waterproof to a standard close to IP66 and include a waterproof cover. Only directly spraying water on th should cause any water to penetrate. Water ingress could cause a circuit breaker to trip in the main panel. This is dealt with by letting the outlet dry and resetting the breaker switch from off to on

If the homeowner asked you to use a hose on or near outlets, some or all the responsibility ought to be theirs.