# Yanking on power sockets too hard **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277 "2019-06-10T00:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/1 "2019-06-10T00:55:45Z")
Just moved into a new flat and many of the power sockets are extremely…snug. You can’t plug in something, or unplug it, without a good deal of force. Does this forceful plugging and unplugging risk damaging the power outlets and causing fire or something? ---
**Author:** ![K2500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@K2500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K2500)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/2 "2019-06-10T01:41:51Z")
If they are constructed and retained in the same way as they are here in the us then yanking could definately damage the receptacle and possible RIP the whole shebang out the wall, though I’ll admit I’m not even a little familiar with overseas wiring methods or construction practices. Generally I would advise slight a slight wiggle whilst pulling moderately for stubborn devices. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/3 "2019-06-10T01:49:50Z")
Yanking (which implies using the power cord to pull the plug out) should never be done. _Ever_. If the outlets are tight, that means they are new. They will loosen up over time. Just wiggle the plug out until they get loose enough. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/4 "2019-06-10T02:00:13Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Yanking (which implies using the power cord to pull the plug out) should never be done. _Ever_. > If the outlets are tight, that means they are new. They will loosen up over time. > Just wiggle the plug out until they get loose enough. I doubt these are new outlets; the building is perhaps 20 years old. Maybe “yank” wasn’t the right term, but I had to wiggle and pry with a lot of force and time. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/5 "2019-06-10T02:01:37Z")
> [@K2500](#): > > If they are constructed and retained in the same way as they are here in the us then yanking could definately damage the receptacle and possible RIP the whole shebang out the wall, though I’ll admit I’m not even a little familiar with overseas wiring methods or construction practices. Well, I’m in Austin, TX. (I should have said apartment instead of flat) ---
**Author:** ![K2500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@K2500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K2500)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/6 "2019-06-10T02:17:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Well, I’m in Austin, TX. (I should have said apartment instead of flat) Good ol Austin. I’ll be down there later this month. If you’re wiggle and prying with a great deal of force over time, especially on 20yo recepticles I wonder if they’re not broken in some way. Is it all of them or one or two? It’s possible they were all replaced relatively recently or might have seen exceptionally little use since the day they were installed but for most apartment complexes those two things are highly unlikely barring some exceptional circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/7 "2019-06-10T14:00:56Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I doubt these are new outlets; the building is perhaps 20 years old. > > Maybe “yank” wasn’t the right term, but I had to wiggle and pry with a lot of force and time. Perhaps they were replaced? My house was built in 1904, but the outlets are only 10 years old because I replaced them all. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/8 "2019-06-10T14:07:16Z")
^ This. I’m in the process of replacing the original (as in new in 64) receptacles in the Outlaw’s house. The new ones have a safety tab that prevents youngsters from sticking things into one side of the plug. Personally, I think it’s ridiculous in that it makes it very difficult to plug anything into them. How are kids supposed to learn how to change a fuse if they don’t blow them first? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/9 "2019-06-10T14:09:39Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Just moved into a new flat We don’t have flats here. Are you in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/10 "2019-06-10T18:13:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > We don’t have flats here. Are you in the UK? _The term apartment is favored in North America (although in some cities flat is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor)._ I use that second definition all the time in my area, where homes converted to duplexes- triplexes with one apartment to a floor are commonish :). ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/11 "2019-06-11T13:02:57Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > _The term apartment is favored in North America (although in some cities flat is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor)._ > > I use that second definition all the time in my area, where homes converted to duplexes- triplexes with one apartment to a floor are commonish :). Me too. I currently live in the second floor of a two flat. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/12 "2019-06-11T13:17:23Z")
Are they [tamper resistant](https://www.esfi.org/program/tamper-resistant-receptacles-trrs-205)? You’ll see like white plastic inside the holes. They can be tricky to line up the plug right and get the cover to retract, sometimes it takes a lot of force. > [@](#): > > When equal pressure is simultaneously applied to both sides, the receptacle cover plates open to allow the standard plug to make contact with the receptacle contact points. Without this simultaneous pressure, the cover plates remain closed, preventing insertion of foreign objects and protecting your children from painful, traumatic electrical injuries. These are installed almost anywhere children can be, so I can see an apartment complex retrofitting them out of a fear of liability. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/13 "2019-06-11T21:41:45Z")
My mother told me I would go blind if I yanked on my power socket too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yanking-on-power-sockets-too-hard/835277/14 "2019-06-12T09:50:12Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > _The term apartment is favored in North America (although in some cities flat is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor)._ > > I use that second definition all the time in my area, where homes converted to duplexes- triplexes with one apartment to a floor are commonish :). Which I think describes traditional London flats too: Grand city residences converted into “Flats”, retaining the grand stairway as a common area.