When we talk about a short circuit we refer to a malfunction of the electrical system. One minute before the light works correctly, as well as all the household appliances, one minute later it is totally dark.

What causes a short circuit ? Electric cables have two polarities, phase and neutral, when these come into contact here is the anomaly that causes the electrical system to go haywire. In an instant the flow of electric current increases its intensity and the damaged circuit does the rest. Usually those systems defined as "life-saving" intervene in time and we just need to reactivate the electrical system without major damage but, in some cases, especially when it comes to old systems, the safety of the home can be jeopardized.

The fundamental thing, before reattaching a system deactivated by the safety device, is to look for the point from which the short circuit started and, often, the smell of burnt plastic will make you reach the socket that generated the problem. At that point it will be necessary to unplug to prevent the tilt from happening again. If your sense of smell has not betrayed you, you will find the "culprit" in a few minutes and you can reactivate the light in the house. In the event that the problem is not a socket or a light bulb, then you will have to call an electrician to check the entire system.

There are of course some precautions you can take to prevent short circuits from occurring and we will follow them to you:

- do not overload the electrical sockets and power strips to your preferred multiples

- choose modern energy class appliances and try not to keep too many attached at the same time

- replace damaged cables

- replace old bulbs with LED ones

- if you don't have a life saver yet, run to get one installed