Homes make all sorts of noises and do all sorts of strange things. Pipes bang, doors creak, and the fridge occasionally sounds like it is preparing for take-off. But when your house starts doing something unusual with electricity, it is worth paying attention.

A flickering light. A plug that gets hot. Or, more seriously, a tap or shower that gives you a little shock. These aren't necessarily harmless household quirks. They can be warning signs that something isn't right with the electrical installation.

“Your home will often give you clues that something is wrong before an electrical fault becomes a serious problem,” says Dr Andrew Dickson, engineering executive at CBi-electric: low voltage. “The trick is knowing which quirks are harmless and which ones should have you reaching for the phone.”

Here are five warning signs every homeowner should know.

1. Your shower is giving you the tiniest of shocks

This is not something you should get used to. A tingling sensation or shock from a shower, bath, tap or other metal fitting can indicate faulty earthing or bonding, a damaged geyser element, a neutral-to-earth fault, a lost neutral or ineffective earth leakage protection.

Because wet skin conducts electricity more readily, an electrical fault in a bathroom can pose a serious safety risk.

What to do: Stop using the affected shower or fitting and have the installation checked by a qualified, registered electrician. The earth leakage protection, earthing and bonding should be checked and tested. After this, the geyser and neutral connection should be assessed. Finally, go around the home and ensure all appliances are in good working order and there is no physical damage to the cords or the equipment itself.

2. Your earth leakage has become the most overprotective member of the household

If your earth leakage keeps tripping, it is usually responding to a fault somewhere in the installation. Possible causes include a faulty appliance, damaged wiring, a geyser element, pool equipment or, particularly as the rainy season approaches, water getting into outdoor electrical fittings.

If water gets into an outside light fitting and reaches the wiring, for example, current can leak to earth and cause the earth leakage to trip. That is why a problem that suddenly appears after heavy rain shouldn't simply be dismissed as the weather.

Repeatedly resetting the earth leakage without finding the cause is a little like putting a plaster over a warning light on your car dashboard. The warning has disappeared, but the problem hasn't.

What to do: If the problem appears during or after rain, outdoor lights and other external electrical equipment may be among the areas that need checking. Don't open or work on wet electrical fittings yourself. If the earth leakage continues to trip, call a qualified electrician to identify and repair the fault.

3. Your lights are developing a flickering habit

A light that flickers once when a large appliance switches on is not necessarily cause for concern. However, persistent flickering, lights that dim and brighten unexpectedly, or several lights behaving strangely can indicate a loose connection, neutral fault, overloaded circuit, voltage fluctuation or a failing LED driver.

Loose connections can also generate heat and, in some circumstances, arcing.

What to do: Start with the simplest possibility and replace the globe. If the flickering stops, the globe or its LED driver was likely the problem. If it continues, particularly across several lights, the problem may lie with the fixed electrical installation and should be checked by an electrician. If the flickering is accompanied by buzzing, a burning smell, heat or scorch marks, switch off the affected circuit if it is safe to do so and get professional help.

4. Your circuit breaker keeps saying “no”

Circuit breakers are designed to trip when they detect a problem, such as excessive current or a short circuit. So, if the same breaker keeps cutting out, it issimply be doing exactly what it was designed to do.

The underlying cause, however, could be an overloaded circuit, faulty appliance, short circuit or a wiring problem.

What to do: Don't make repeatedly resetting the breaker your household's unofficial troubleshooting strategy. Disconnect appliances from the affected circuit and, if the problem persists, have the circuit professionally tested.

5. Your plug or socket is getting hot under the collar

A plug, switch or socket that becomes noticeably hot can indicate a loose connection, poor contact, an overloaded outlet or a defective electrical accessory. Discolouration, scorch marks, buzzing, crackling or a burning smell are even stronger warning signs.

What to do: Stop using the affected socket or switch and have it inspected. Don't simply replace the accessory without finding out why it became hot in the first place.

The golden rule: strange is not always harmless

“There is a temptation to develop a tolerance for the little oddities in our homes,” says Dr Dickson. “We learn which door needs an extra shove, which tap needs to be turned just so and which plug needs to be wiggled before it works. Electricity is different.”

The safest approach is simple: if electricity starts behaving strangely, don't become an expert at living with it. Get it checked.