Outlet Flicker Forensics: Separating Loose Neutrals from Appliance Ghosts
You're on the couch, and the lamp in the corner blinks. Not a dramatic blackout—just a quick dip, like someone blinked the lights. You ignore it. It happens again an hour later. Then again. At some point you start counting. Flickering outlets are weird because they lie. Sometimes it's the bulb. Sometimes it's the switch. Sometimes it's a loose wire behind the wall that's heating up every time you plug in a space heater. This isn't about calling an electrician for every blink. It's about learning to read the clues. Think of it as energy detective work—low stakes until it isn't. The Decision Window: When You Must Choose a Path Reading the urgency meter Your kitchen outlet flickers when the space heater kicks on. Then it stops. Then it does it again three nights later.