The reason this outlet is open was because my washing machine was connected directly to it. I was advised to close it up by the people who took my old washing machine away. However i dont think i can wait until my friend has time to look at this. I likely cant turn the power on on the outlet at all right now i assume, how can i make sure myself that i can safely turn the power back on? electricity varies wildly in countries, im from austria if that helps.

Edit: a friend of mine who does some electrician work as part of his job (building pools) corroborated several of your comments (the only exposed cable is the grounding one and he offered to cover it up further at a later point after i put some tape on it)

thank you all for your answers and putting me at ease

  • neidu2
    20·
    10 days ago

    Black and blue are the important ones, they’re the ones with the line voltage. From what I can see, they’re both OK, and they have wagos on them.

    Under normal circumstances, the grounding wire (green/yellow) shouldn’t carry any voltage, but mistakes and faults happen. While you’ll most likely be fine just covering it as it is, I’d give that wire some treatment too: If you don’t have any wago clamps or similar, just snip off the exposed copper, and wrap some electrical tape around it just to be safe.

    DISCLAIMER: I’m not in Australia Austria (I’m European Scandinavian), and I’m not a licensed electrician, let alone a licensed electrician in Australia Austria. I could be an internet terrorist who wants you to burn down your house for all you know.

    • Mandy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      4·
      10 days ago

      i see if work has electrical tape tomorrow

      until than, dont turn on electricity?

      since you said the black and blue ones are okay that should mean i could right?

      • neidu2
        7·
        10 days ago

        Unless there’s a grounding fault somewhere in your house, you should be good. Until tomorrow is probably fine, just make sure that the exposed grounding wire isn’t touching anything conductive in the mean time, and you’re safe even if there is a grounding fault.

        If you have a voltmeter, you can measure the voltage between the grounding wire and something conductive that is connected to actual ground, such as a copper pipe or similar. Voltage should be 0 in a healthy electrical installation.

        PS: Any tape will do, to be honest, as long as it’s not conductive. The main d9wnside to using duct tape instead of electrical tape is that it’s not according to code, and it looks like ass. But I’ve done it.

        • Mandy@sh.itjust.worksOP
          3·
          10 days ago

          i dont particularly care about looks but the store i work at should have some elec tape on sale