Forget-Me-Not Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I'm puzzled. We had a sudden burning smell in the main living area of our home and we couldn't find the source. The kids and I combed the house and came up with nothing. I thought it might have been our heater, but I experimented with switching it on and off before calling the HVAC guy and it didn't get worse. It's mostly disappated now. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Refridgerator? Is that anywhere near the living room? We once called the fire department once for a burning smell that we could not figure out at all. Neither could they! After they left, we figured it out. It was a tiny part inside the fridge that had gone bad. You could call the non-emergency number and ask them to help you. They have special cameras (?) that detect heat within the walls. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 We recently had this with an aging microwave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Dust on a lightbulb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Nope, no propane, just natural gas and electricity :) The dust/bug on a lightbulb occurred to me too. It smelled like that type of burning. We didn't have a lot of lights on because it's bright and sunny here today, but it's a possibility. It seemed to be strongest near the computer desk and got better when I shut it all down though . . . I couldn't find anything hot though. I'll let DH examine it all tonight I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Dishwasher? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Dishwasher, washer, dryer, microwave, etc were all off and had been off for a while. I talked to DH. He said the computer is likely because his video card runs hot and the case gets dusty. I hope that's all it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 How old is your house? Is there any chance it has aluminum wiring? It could be some wiring working loose in an outlet and sparking/burning the nearby insulation. This happened at a previous house where we lived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakven Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Could it be your computer? My husband's computer had a plug inside or something that was going bad and his did that for a while until it finally got horrible smelling and then we had to fix it and we could tell where was coming from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Do you have any new electronics or appliances or really anything new and electrical in the house? I only ask because a friend had a mild burning odor in her house (they could locate it to a specific area) and then she had an electrical fire. It turns out it was a couple of lamps that had faulty wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Our propane hot water heater snuffed out a few times with high winds coming down the exhaust pipe. It was similar to a burning smell I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 possible wiring - either in the wall, or lamp? light bulb touching something? sometimes if the HVAC hasn't been used in awhile, dust in the duct-work can have that smell when the heat is turned on. last week a stranger stopped by a friends house to tell them their attic was on fire. they didn't smell anything, even though he was almost immediately below the location of the fire ignition point. apparently, some blown-in insluation fell into a seldom used can light and caught fire when they turned it on. they were incredibly lucky. the firemen were able to use a heat seeking tool to determine where the fire was, cut holes in the ceiling from inside (instead of through the roof), and use foam to exterminate, instead of water. the fire cheif told them they were 15 minutes from it exploding and losing their entire house. another way they were very blessed. if that had happened, the ceiling would have come down on top of our friend. and since they were remodling their bedroom - all the furniture and clothing had been removed so it has no smoke damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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