Is this outlet unsafe?

Question

My 3 year old son was pushing the limits the other day and partially unplugged an air cleaner that was running in our living room, he then decided to throw a metal toy which hit the exposed plug and caused the outlet to arc and the breaker to trip.

The outlet still worked after resetting the breaker. I have since replaced the outlet but am wondering if the outlet pictured below was unsafe or just had cosmetic damage.

Is this outlet unsafe? Is there a way to test that it is unsafe, perhaps with a volt meter?

Answer 1

What you are seeing is the result of the very short duration arc-flash from mechanical/electrical short that popped the breaker. You've discovered first-hand how well your breaker is functioning.

You may find that the arc-flash residue will wipe off easily, perhaps with ordinary household cleaner on a rag. Do not spray it directly, or for optimum safety, flip off the breaker prior to cleaning.

Consider also that the general construction of these outlets create a wiping effect between the prongs of the plug and the socket contacts. As the plug was in contact at the time of the short, you likely did not have arcing between the plug and the socket contacts, only between the flying metal toy. You could, while the breaker is off, insert and remove a plug a few times, but I suspect you'll experience no difficulty.