Do your plug sockets stand out like a sore thumb? Don’t stand for it! It’s easier than you might think to update the old sockets lurking in the corners of your room.

You might want to replace your sockets if they’re:

• Chipped, cracked or just tired and worn
• You’ve recently renovated your house and your sockets are spoiling your beautiful decor
• You want to add additional handy features to your sockets like USB ports for charging phones or tablets

If your sockets aren’t working properly though, get an expert to look into the reason why. We’re sure you don’t need us to tell you that faulty electrics can be very dangerous. Best to leave finding a fault to the professionals.

Bear in mind too that there are rules and regulations regarding electrical work around the home so please do check with local authorities if you’re unsure what you’re allowed to do. And speaking of being unsure, if you don’t feel confident replacing your sockets we don’t advise doing it yourself. Unusual for us we know, but as there is a higher level of danger involved with electrical work it’s much, much better to be safe than sorry. Just get a man in, pop the kettle on and put your feet up instead.

Still happy to continue? Great! Now you just need to follow these 10 steps to change your sockets safely.

10 Easy Steps

1. First things first, test your current socket is wired in correctly using a plug in socket tester. eSpares Tip: These sockets testers are also a great way to make sure your extension cords are working.
2. Turn off the electricity supply to your socket using the fuse box. Make sure other people in the house are aware you’re working on the socket too, so they don’t accidentally switch the electrics back on! (It may even be a good idea to leave a reminder post-it note on the fuse box if you share your house with particularly absentminded folk.)
3. The socket tester should now indicate that there is no power being supplied to the socket.
4. Unscrew the socket faceplate so you can ease it gently away from the wall and get a look at the wires behind.
5. Before going any further use a multimeter to double check there is no electricity supply coming to the socket. All safe? Great, you may continue.
6. Release the wires by unscrewing the terminal behind the faceplate and grab your new socket, it’s time to fit it.
7. The back of the new socket should have indicators of where each wire goes. Remember brown is live, blue is neutral and yellow and green is the earth wire.
8. Put the wires in the correct positions and tighten the terminal as much as you can onto the copper wires (and not the wire insulation).
9. Give the wires a tug to check they’re firmly secured and push them back into the wall, positioning the new socket in the same place as the original.
10. Screw the new socket in, turn the fuse back on and voila, job done!

To make certain your new socket has been wired in correctly pop the socket tester plug in again to check.

Want to see the above steps in action? Watch Mat changing a twin socket to a twin socket with added USB connectors:

If you’ve never considered enhancing your home by replacing your sockets before, but we’ve piqued your interest, why not take a look at what’s on offer out there? We’ve got all sorts from USB port sockets to brass, chrome and even black sockets in our range.

Tags: electrical work, eSpares How To Videos, Home Improvements, plug sockets