How to Keep a Light Switch Permanently in the On Position

When you live in an older home, you might need to keep a light switch permanently in the on position if you want your other receptacles in the room to work. Now, some people solve that problem by putting masking tape over the light switch in the on position. Which looks terrible. In fact, I admit to having such a light switch in our family room. When we moved in, we indeed put blue masking tape over the switch. It’s in a corner so we don’t really look at it but now that I’m looking at it, well, it’s awful.

Of course, the logical solution is to hire an electrician to correctly wire your light switch so it doesn’t turn on and off your receptacles. There is no excuse for that, really. But human nature says that’s too much work. People do goofy things when they do their own wiring. The only time I feel truly safe working on our wiring is when I’m running Romex from the box to the desired box. Because you don’t know how somebody else wired your stuff.

I once wired an entire lower level of a home all by myself, including a couple of tricky four-way switches. So I know my way around installing light fixtures and receptacles, I just don’t do it anymore. I learned how to do this when I bought my first house. In the Women’s Room by Marilyn French there is a passage where a woman sat on the floor crying in the dark. All because she could not turn on her light. I vowed to never be that helpless.

However, even I had no idea that there was a way to keep a light switch permanently in the on position. Discovered this when I inspected a new probate listing in North Highlands for a former client. First, I saw the garage floor had been raised about 5 inches. Very odd. Asked the seller why. Apparently, his father thought that was a good way to keep out water. Except it also keeps out your vehicles.

His father was a do-it-yourself sort of guy. That photo on this page? That’s his answer for a way to keep a light switch permanently in the on position. I don’t know where you would buy such a thing, but what an innovative idea. The things I learn from my clients when listing homes in Sacramento! Always something new.