I went to put in an outlet with charging ports and found this monstrosity behind the wall plate. The box is filled with expanding foam, I'm guessing as some kind of support? Then painted all over. I scraped it all out, put in outlet spacers and its much better. I think there's foam around the box too, but I'm not gonna worry about that (yet).
Now I get to spend next weekend replacing all the outlets in the house just in case there's any more sketchy "fixes" 🫠
After cleaning and replacing:
Jesus Howard Christ... I'm in the market to buy my first house and this is stuff I'm a bit afraid of finding.
don't worry. you'll find something way worse.
four things I have learned over my time as a homeowner in the US.
You have to think of it as opportunity! Most people should be able to safely replace an outlet. This just prioritizes it.
You get something modern, perhaps “tamper-resistant” if you plan on kids, perhaps with chargers where convenient, perhaps “smart”, perhaps with nightlights where convenient