Electrical outlet covers

[nestsman]

I tried to take off the covers in preparation for painting inside my mobile home. I quickly realized they were glued on instead of a single screw, like you would find in a regular house. Is this normal? Or did the builder of my mobile home use this to save time? I tried to pry it off with a screwdriver, but I didn't want the cover to break. How do most of you get around the problem of glued on covers?

Thanks!

[mattjslaunwhite]

all the ones iv seen have been the regular screw on ones

[Greg]

Most original mobile home outlets & switch covers snap in place. These are the "all in one" box & switch type. My personal (and many here) opinion is that this style should be replaced with a standard box & outlet. They use a connector that only pierces the wire to make connection. If the connection is bad you will have flickering lights as the best case and no connection or arching (possible fire cause) for the worst. I honestly can not see how these got an approval for use. I am not trying to scare anyone, they ARE approved but I have seen too many problems with them.

Do yourself a favor and switch them over, even a few at a time. You will be glad you did.

Greg