A GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) is a safety outlet that cuts power instantly if it senses electricity heading somewhere unsafe, like toward water. They're in bathrooms, kitchens, garages, and outside — and when one trips, your breaker panel can look totally normal. That's the number-one reason a room goes dark for no obvious reason.
Call your power company to see if there's a reported outage, and confirm your account is current — a past-due balance can interrupt service. If the whole street is dark, it's the utility, not your home.
Walk the bathrooms, kitchen, garage, laundry, and any outdoor outlets. Press the RESET button on each GFCI (the outlet with the little RESET and TEST buttons). One tripped GFCI can kill several outlets down the line.
Find your panel (often a hallway, closet, garage, or basement). Look for any breaker that's not lined up with the rest, or sitting in the middle.
A breaker doesn't reset by nudging it back. Push it all the way OFF first, then firmly back ON. Do this for the tripped one — or all of them, one at a time, if you're not sure which.
Some panels have breakers with their own little TEST button. Those reset the same way — all the way off, then on.
If a breaker trips again right away, unplug space heaters, hair dryers, or anything high-draw on that circuit, then reset once more. Repeated tripping on a bare circuit is something we should look at.
Only ever flip the breaker switches. Never remove the panel's inner cover, and never touch, tape, or handle wiring yourself. Stop and call us right away — call 911 first if there's fire — if you notice any of these: a burning or fishy smell, scorch marks or discoloration, sparks or buzzing, an outlet or breaker that's warm or hot to the touch, any wire that's exposed, frayed, or damaged, or water anywhere near an outlet or the panel.
Great — you're back in business. If the same breaker or outlet keeps tripping over the next day or two, send us a work order so we can check the circuit before it becomes a bigger problem.
Tell us which rooms are affected and what you've already tried — it helps us come prepared and get you sorted faster.