What is Cotton Cloth Wiring?

As a result of cotton cloth wiring being created in older times, the new technologies if future periods are not involved in it. Such as ground systems, there are numerous points to why cotton cloth wiring can cause severe damage to the surrounding appliances and people:

• The presence of asbestos in the wires is extremely hazardous. As asbestos has been directly linked to developing cancer, this is a dangerous issue. Because the older wires were coated in asbestos or cloth, it has to be handled with care. If any further action or work is done on the wires, it is important that constant awareness of the asbestos should be considered.
• The wire may not have the necessary amount of heat resilience. Consequently, when heat will be radiated from the wires, the surrounding areas may be prone to excessive heat. As the cloth seated cable cannot contain all the heat that produces from the electrical wire, there is a chance of heat damage to parts of the building.
• As the cotton cloth wire becomes older, the wire brittles and the chance of it cracking/ breaking increases. The danger to this is that an exposed and bare wire will be present within the walls and ceilings of the building. Thus, the chance that an electrical fire starts rises rapidly as the wires can touch and spark. Additionally, if someone would touch the bare wire they could as a result become electrocuted severely.
• As the older your home’s or work’s electrical system is, the likelihood of proper grounding systems decreases. During the time where the cotton cloth wires were being installed, not every place was correctly grounded. As ground testing prevents the excess electrical charges from ruining your appliances/ causing other damage, it is very important. Therefore, ungrounded places/systems are at higher risk of electrical surges/ charges from sparking your home. Also, they can cause terrible effects on your electrical appliances, like computers `lives’ being shortened.

A combination of both the age of the system/ technology and the materials included is why cotton cloth wiring can be so dangerous. It is really important that if you know this system is present to ensure that it is safe. However, in most cases, it is highly encouraged that simply replacing the electrical system entirely is the best option.

There is only simple option to this question and that is to hire a professional electrician.

Doing the trade personally will only increase the amount of danger. Also, it will probably further damage caused on your residential or commercial building. The lack of skills and knowledge will only be a negative on the whole problem. Because, most likely there would be no knowledge on what to do unless you have had previous experience.

Thus, we highly and strongly recommend hiring a trained electrician to deal with the subject. Furthermore, a Level 2 Electrician is advised as they have more skills than regular electricians.  They are qualified to perform more dangerous tasks, as well as possess all the needed knowledge and skills for the process. As there are bare electrical wires, brittle wires, ungrounded systems and/or asbestos involved, a level 2 electrician will know how to safely prevent harm.

As cotton cloth wiring is extremely dangerous and cannot be done personally. A licensed ASP electrician will need to be called. The average price for cotton cloth wiring will vary depending on job size, wiring length etc. However, it will approximately cost you in the $1000s to replace completely.