Have you ever plugged a lamp, laptop, or phone charger into an outlet, only to have it immediately go out? Whether it happened at home or while you were trying to charge a device at the airport, it’s annoying and frustrating when you can’t reach the outlet you need.

There are a few common “hacks” to keep the plug in, like bending the prongs, that clearly aren’t long-term solutions to the problem. And are they safe? And why does this happen in the first place? I asked George Tucker, a live events and home automation specialist with over 30 years of experience in the AV industry and a former founder of podcast network AVNation, about this and the proper way to fix a loose outlet.

Behind the plastic surface of a standard electrical outlet are U-shaped contacts (socket) into which the pins of a plug slide, creating an electrical connection, Tucker explains. Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to work.

Electrical outlets become loose over time for a variety of reasons, Tucker says, but most often it’s misuse and rough handling. “When someone pushes a plug in at an angle or pulls one out of the cord instead of gripping the molded cap, the metal outlets get bent or spread.”