The Day the Whirring Stopped

One the second floor of our house at 100 Prince Street we have a washroom with built-in shower that sports a light and exhaust fan in its ceiling.

Last week I went to take my morning shower and, as I do every morning, I flipped on the switch that turns these on.

Nothing.

I tried again.

Nothing.

“Oh no,” I thought to myself, “I’m going to have to call an electrician.”

Later in the morning I booked an appointment with Kingston Electrical.

A few days later the battery in my Braun shaver was getting low, so after my morning shave I plugged it in to the outlet next to the washroom sink.

The next morning I went to shave, only to find that the shaver was dead. 

Nothing.

For some reason it hadn’t charged up overnight.

I checked all the connections, and the plug, to make sure nothing was awry, but it appeared that the shaver was kaput.

“Oh no,” I thought to myself, “I’m going to have to buy another shaver.”

Later in the morning I went up to Home Hardware and purchased a Remington foil shaver that, helpfully, was on sale for $31.

This morning Kingston Electrical arrived first thing for their scheduled visit.

They went up to the washroom, noted that the ground fault circuit interrupter button on the washroom outlet was “tripped,” reset it, and then everything – the outlet, the shaver and the ceiling light and exhaust fan – started working.

Apparently, for some reason – they said it was unusual but not otherwise problematic – the shower stall’s electrical wiring was wired through the sink plug’s GFCI.

Live and learn.