What if the apartment smells of burnt wiring?

Step 1 - Turn off the electricity

The first step is to de-energize the apartment (or private house). This is done by moving the lever of the input machine to the “off” position or by unscrewing plugs if the wiring is old. About, how to safely disconnect electricity, we told in the corresponding article.

Next, you need to turn off all electrical appliances that are plugged into sockets. Everything is simple here - we pull out the plugs of their outlets, only carefully so as not to pull the entire mechanism out of the strobe.

After a complete blackout, you practically protected yourself from a fire. Then it’s up to you to call the master so that he quickly determines why the wiring smells burnt and eliminates the problem qualitatively. Another option is to try to solve the problem yourself. The information provided below is suitable for those who decide to act on the second path.

Step 2 - Doing a wiring audit

Here, you can initially try to determine by smell what smells singed from. It is possible that a problem place will be immediately revealed, after which it will only be necessary to eliminate the breakdown. However, most often it is not possible to quickly find the damaged place, therefore, to find where the smell comes from, you will need to do wiring audit.

Usually, ignition wiring occurs at the junction of the wires in the junction boxes, at the terminals for connecting sockets, as well as directly in the shield itself, at the points of connection of circuit breakers and other devices. In addition, the problem may lie in the fixtures (the same chandelier) or the same household appliances.

A visual inspection of all the listed problem areas should help you find a place where it smells of burnt wiring. Disassemble the sockets, remove the covers from the junction boxes, inspect the plugs of electrical appliances. If you notice burnt plastic or charred contacts, most likely the cause of the smell of burning lies in this place.

In addition, a short circuit may occur directly in the hidden wiring - a cable in the wall. About, how to find a short circuit, we told in the article. Without special tools and skills, this will be almost impossible to do.

Another important point - try to remember, after which the smell is burnt in the room. Perhaps you recently connected a new electric stove or washing machine.If the wiring is old, it is likely that the cable cross section is smaller than expected, as a result of which the cable does not withstand the load and melts. Here it will help to solve the problem only replacement of wiring in the apartment.

Also, the cause of an unpleasant odor may be household appliances themselves. If you notice that it smells like wiring when the washing machine is working or the vacuum cleaner is turned on, it is possible that they are the case (if the rest of the time there is no smell, even if other electrical appliances are connected to this outlet). Instructions for DIY appliance repair we also provided for reading.

Well, the last thing I would like to note is that sometimes the smell of burning wiring in an apartment may not at all mean that you have problems. There are many situations where the reason lies in the occurrence of an emergency in the neighbors, as a result of which the smell of the singing is transmitted to you through ventilation.

So we have listed the main causes of the malfunction. If you yourself are not able to find and solve the problem, or if the apartment began to smell burnt after you yourself decided to conduct the wiring, we recommend calling the wizard. In both the first and second cases, he will diagnose himself, find the problem area and eliminate the danger.

What else is important to know

To protect your house or apartment from a fire, we recommend install an RCD in the shieldthat will instantly work upon detection leakage current. The leak itself occurs when the insulation of the cable is damaged, for example, melting, as a result of which it smells burnt.

You should also understand that outdated wiring is not designed to connect powerful electric stoves, hobs, etc. If you decide to connect the oven, draw a separate line to the point of its connection that can withstand such loads. About, how to calculate the cable cross section for current and power, we told in the corresponding article.

We also recommend watching a video in which several more unexpected causes of a fire in a house are clearly shown:

That's all I wanted to tell you about why it smells like wiring in the apartment and what to do in this case. If you don’t know where to call to help you solve the problem, we recommend that you still turn to the services of a private electrician, as the expectation of a specialist in their housing office can be quite long, and the quality of the work of such masters is not always high.

It will be useful to read:

• Causes of fire wiring in the apartment
• What fire extinguishers can I put out the wiring
• What is power grid overload?