re: Electricians -- Circuit stopped working, breaker not tripped

One should never find back stabbed outlets on 20a circuits (you can't backstab 12g wire on a standard 15a duplex outlet). So most modern homes won't have back stabbed outlets.

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One should never find back stabbed outlets on 20a circuits (you can't backstab 12g wire on a standard 15a duplex outlet). So most modern homes won't have back stabbed outlets.

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After the 2016 flood, I replaced my beige outlets with white ones. Every single one was backstabbed, including 20a circuits. Had to cut some of the wires because they were so far jammed in there. Some of them broke off anyway. Home was built in the 80s. The microwave outlet was one I did not replace because it's inside a cabinet.

Update: Checked both the laundry switch and outlet wiring, and both appeared fine. But with the switch hanging out of the wall, I turned the breaker back on, and everything worked. Wiggled the switch a little, and the lights turned off again. So, either the laundry room light switch went bad in the middle of me microwaving food, or I did a shitty job wiring the switch and it decided to show evidence of that after nearly a year. Both possibilities seem odd.

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why is this bad advice? It probably isn't the most efficient way to find the problem, but if you kill the main going into the panel then you won't hurt yourself doing what I've described

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Even with the main off, there are still areas of the panel that are still live (unless your main is at your meter). I don't think some people realize that. If anyone is thinking of working on their panel, they need to do some serious research on their specific panel first.