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Burning Smell From an Outlet

Sense of Burning Smell from an Outlet – What to Do?

Did you just sense a burning smell from an outlet? A smell of burning rubber or plastic from any of your electrical outlets should never be ignored. Apart from the burning smell leading to running your electrical appliances, it could also lead to the outbreak of an electrical fire in your home. Every year, more than 4000 people are rushed to the emergency room with injuries caused by damaged electrical outlets. This can be prevented by carrying out a proper inspection of the outlet receptacles in your home. Although it’s good to know the root of the problem and what action to take, it’s always the safest option to ask a professional electrician to come assess the issue.
Your electrical outlet is definitely burning if you notice these three signs:

  • Discoloured wall

The discolouration of wall outlets is one of the biggest signs that you have a burnt outlet. It could also mean that your outlet is not properly installed or is damaged. You should never ever try to use a discoloured outlet.

  • Tingling sensation

If you plug in an electrical appliance, say a blender or laptop, and on touching the appliance, you experience a tingling sensation—this is a sign of serious electrical trouble. You may suffer a more serious injury if you ignore this problem.

  • Strong burning smell from an outlet

If you notice a burning smell coming from your outlet, then there’s no doubt that it’s really burning. It might be accompanied by a burning or sizzling sound, and may feel hot when you touch it.

Reasons why your electrical socket has a burning smell

Be sure of the exact outlet that’s burning by getting close to it and sniffing each of the sockets. After you’ve identified the culprit, find the right breaker switch and turn off the electricity. The burning smell might be a result of:

  • Damaged wiring
  • Exposed wiring
  • A circuit board overload
  • Badly installed wiring
  • A foreign body trapped in the box
  • Fire in the outlet box

Burning Smell From an Outlet

What to do when you notice a burning smell from an outlet

You should do the following when you have detected a burning smell from an outlet:

  • Unplug any device from the outlet
  • Go to the breaker box and switch off the electricity supply for that outlet
  • If you can, unscrew the outlet’s cover to check for foreign objects

Fiddling with electrical work without being fully trained for it can be very dangerous. You may cause serious damage to your home, or even get electrocuted while trying to do it yourself. No matter how comfortable you feel inspecting your outlet by yourself, letting an electrician handle the wiring issues or any other kind of repairs is always the wisest thing to do.  A skilled electrician will be able to trace the root of the odour and effectively solve the problem. Call Professional Electrician Elsys Electrical Ltd and avoid putting yourself at risk.

There is one thing, that you always need to remember when you dealing with faulty outlet – Safety First.

Learn more about our electrical services, such as outdoor socket installation & electrical emergency call out

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