Test Your GFCI Outlets Monthly So They Actually Protect You

GFCI outlets — the ones with the little TEST and RESET buttons in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outside — protect you from shock around water. But they only protect you if they still work, and they fail silently with age.

The five-second test

1. Plug in something you can see or hear, like a phone charger with a light or a small radio, and turn it on.
2. Press TEST. The device should click off and the RESET button should pop out.
3. Press RESET. Power should come back.
4. If it doesn't trip, or won't reset, the outlet has failed — replace it or have an electrician do it. That's a safety device, not a cosmetic item.

Do the rounds monthly; it takes two minutes for the whole house. In many homes one GFCI protects several outlets downstream, so if a bathroom outlet dies with no tripped breaker, check the GFCI in the other bathroom or garage first.