Project 17: Replacing the Outlets

***Warning: I am not an electrician nor do I claim to be a professional.***

Now that I got the warning out of the way, I can share how I changed my outlets in the Living Room. When we panted the walls bright white it made our outlets look weird because they were all cream.  Along with this cosmetic reason to change them, they also were kind of old and all upside down. Yes, upside down...weird, right? (Yes, we could have just turned them around, but they would still be cream...so maybe changing them was 100% a cosmetic thing, so sue me.) This was my first foray into an electricians world and I was surprised at how simple the process was.

Step 1: TURN OFF THE POWER!!!! Seriously, go to the breaker box and flip the switch off. Then double check by plugging a lamp in the outlet you're working with and see if it turns on. You can buy something to test outlets, but while carrying around a lamp doesn't look as professional, it's free.

Step 2: Remove face plate and unscrew outlet from wall:

 Step 3: Pull out the outlet and take a look at it. There should be two black wires coming out of one side, two white out of the other and then a wire going to what looks like a random spot in the corner. The random wire is what grounds your outlet.

Two black wires

Two white wire and the grounding wire

Step 4: Unhook the old outlet starting with the grounding wire. Just unscrew the screws (not all the way, just enough so you can get to the wires) and use needle nose pliers to pry the wires off. If the outlet is really old like mine then they wont want to come off easily, but if you unwrap it a bit with the pliers it helps.

Loosening screw for grounding wire

 Now is a good time to take a look at the old outlet to see if the tabs are still there. I've pointed out what the tab looks like in the picture below. Most of the time they will be there, but if your outlet turns on and off with the flip of a switch they will be removed. If they are there, then leave your new outlets as is. If they are missing you will need to break them off of your new outlet.

 So after all the wires are disconnected you have an old gross outlet and a box that looks like an octopus.

 Step 4: Pull out the new outlet and attach the wires, grounding wire first. Remember to remove the tab if you need to. Also, here is an interesting fact: it doesn't matter which side of the outlet (right or left) the black and white wires are, as long as both black are on one side and both white on the other. I was worried because our outlet was upside down, and so the black were on the right side of the old outlet but the left side of the new...doesn't matter. ***CORRECTION: It DOES matter. Black wires should always be connected to the brass screws while white wires should be connected to the silver screws. Switching the two will cause the electricity to flow through the outlet the opposite direction from what is intended.***

Wrap grounding wire around the colored screw and tighten. In new outlets they make the screw for the grounding wire colored to make it easy to identify.

Just hook on the new wires and tighten the screws. Looking for the tab on my new outlet? It is hard to see here, but it is in front of the screws, right before the white plastic.

Don't think that the wires have to completely circle around the screw. As long as there is contact and the wires wont come off you're good.

Step 5: Shove that outlet back in it's how and screw it in. I say shove because it was really hard to push everything back in. 

Seriously had to push with one hand while screwing in the top screw.

Once you get one screw in, the other is way easier.

Step 6: Put on your new face plate and give yourself a hand! Don't you feel like a professional electrician?

I honestly was surprised at how easy it is to change these. All things involving electrical wires used to scare me. So, when do you change the outlets? Besides cosmetic reasons, you should change if when you plug something in, the plug falls out wiggles around in the outlet. The insides of the outlets eventually wear out and its safer just to replace the whole thing.

Project Cost: about $18 for each new outlet and face plate (sold separately) 

Time: 15 mins for the first outlet, but you get faster as you go

Difficulty: Easier than you think, but I'd still say moderate DIY skills just because it is involving electricity.