During the renovation of our half bathroom, I had originally mentioned that we installed a new GFCI outlet (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter), but what I forgot to mention was that I ended up removing it and putting a regular outlet back in.
So why the change? It would seem on paper that having a GFCI switched outlet in a bathroom is a smart idea, especially with a water source nearby. The outlet is designed to “pop” and cut the flow of electricity in case of a surge (such as water into the outlet) and will help prevent a circuit from causing a fire.
The odd thing was that after I installed the outlet, we would hear an occasional buzzing, or humming noise coming directly from the outlet. At first, I thought it may have been a loose wire rattling, so I flipped off the power and took it off to tighten the wires, but when I flipped the power back on, the buzzing was still there. I called my dad, who knows his way around an electrical circuit and he was stumped. I know that a buzzing usually means a faulty connection, but when I used my outlet tester, everything came up normal. I also noticed that when the refrigerator fan would kick on, that’s when the buzzing would start. When the fan shut off, there was no more buzzing. I thought it to be odd that the fridge would be on the same circuit as the bathroom, but it wasn’t impossible.
My dad suggested calling Home Depot’s electrical department (since that is where I bought the outlet) and asking them. Mind you, when I called it was nearly 9pm, so I was surprised that they were open (and more surprised someone answered right away). They told me that it was unlikely it would be the fridge, but that two GFCI switches were on the same circuit. He said that most of the houses built in our area around the 80′s all had one GFCI in the master bathroom, and that the rest of the bathrooms were on the same circuit. This way, if any water hit any of the outlets, the one in the master would pop and cut the current to the rest. He also informed me that having two GFCI outlets on one line is bad, and the best suggestion would be to re-install a normal outlet. I trekked over to the Home Depot (at 9pm), picked up a new outlet and installed it as soon as I got home. No more buzzing.
I will say that the best way to check all of this would be to test the one in the master bath and seeing if the others shut off, I know that. The other test would be to flip the breaker and see what other outlets are associated with this, I also know that, I just haven’t done it yet (since our shower fiasco). On our list to do (VERY) soon is associate every outlet and fixture to a corresponding breaker, since on the breaker panel most things just say “general lighting.” That doesn’t help at all. My plan is to draw a detailed map/outline of our house, and go through each outlet/light one by one and plot them. It will take a while, but we’ve learned that it will come in handy in a pinch.
About Matt and MC
We just recently bought our first home, and we decided to share our story of our adventures with you. The ups and downs of home ownership, and all the fun we'll have in between. Ignore the typos and just have fun, that's what we're here for. 
