Good points about the GFCI checks, but honestly, monthly might be a bit overkill. I get the caution—I'm pretty paranoid myself—but constantly testing breakers could wear them out faster or even cause unnecessary trips. Maybe just do a thorough inspection at the start of winter and after any heavy storms? I've been doing that, and so far, no 3 AM pipe disasters...knock on wood.
"constantly testing breakers could wear them out faster or even cause unnecessary trips."
Fair point, but honestly, modern GFCIs are built to handle regular testing without much issue. A quick monthly press of the test button isn't really going to shorten their lifespan noticeably. Seen plenty fail from neglect rather than overuse. But yeah, if monthly feels excessive, at least quarterly checks might strike a good balance—better safe than sorry, especially when water and electricity mix...
I've had a few GFCIs that stopped working altogether because no one ever bothered testing them, so I'm definitely on the side of regular checks. Monthly might seem a bit much (I admit I forget sometimes myself...), but I've never seen a breaker fail just because someone pressed the test button regularly. Curious though—has anyone here actually had a breaker wear out from testing too often, or is that more of a theoretical worry?
I've never personally seen a breaker wear out just from regular testing, and I've been around plenty of electricians who swear by monthly checks. Honestly, I think the whole "wearing out" thing is more theoretical than practical—these things are built to handle regular use. Sure, anything mechanical can eventually fail, but pressing a button once a month isn't exactly heavy-duty use.
Funny enough, I've seen way more GFCIs fail from never being tested at all. Had one job where the homeowner didn't even know they had GFCIs until we pointed them out during a plumbing repair. Surprise surprise, half of them were toast. So yeah, maybe monthly checks feel like overkill sometimes (I admit I slack off too), but better safe than sorry... especially when water and electricity are involved.
"Funny enough, I've seen way more GFCIs fail from never being tested at all."
Yeah, same here. It's kinda ironic how the stuff that's supposed to keep you safe ends up neglected the most. Had a similar situation at an apartment complex—maintenance hadn't checked the GFCIs in years, and half of them were dead when we finally got around to it. Monthly testing might feel tedious, but honestly, catching a faulty outlet early beats dealing with water damage or worse later on...
