Why does my electrical appliance smell like fish or burnt rubber?
Power surges can cause components like ceiling fans and lights to overheat and melt their insulation, producing a distinctive fishy or burnt rubber odor. Continuing to use the appliance poses a safety hazard, which is why people prefer to keep it unplugged until the underlying electrical issue is identified.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Why does my electrical appliance smell like fish or burnt rubber?
- 1Turning off the room's circuit breakerDid this help you?
- 2Waiting until Monday to call an electricianDid this help you?
- 3Assuming the smell is from poor HVAC circulation or a dead rodentDid this help you?
- 4Turning off the power and inspecting the outlet for burn marks and loose wiresDid this help you?
- 5Ceasing use of the outlet until the issue is diagnosedDid this help you?
- 6Caulking the open space between the drywall and the outletDid this help you?
- 7Air sealing around the penetration areaDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My parents had an electrical surge 3 weeks ago. In one of the rooms, a ceiling fan and ceiling light appliance have been emitting a fishy odor ever since.”source ↗
“We’ve noticed a strange odor coming from an outlet (first pic, second pic normal outlet for comparison) it looks like wood chips or something on the top of the photo.”source ↗
“It’s musty, earthy, not foul just like a dull almost dead bug smell. I thought I’d find a bunch of dead bugs back there truthfully”source ↗