Home Improvement

Ask a Home Improvement Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Home Improvement question?

Home Improvement Experts are Online Now

characters left:

Not a Home Improvement Question?

Question

Last night and tonight we smelled a disctinct burning smell in our home but cannot pinpoint where is is coming from. Last night it was upstairs in the master bedroom and tonight it happened in the downstairs office. There is not smoke or heat that we can see or feel on any outlets. Any suggestions on how to toubleshoot this?

Submitted: 93 days and 7 hours ago.

Category: Home Improvement

Value: $9

Status: CLOSED

Posted by Mike W 92 days and 18 hours ago.

Answer

Hello my name is Mike and thanks for using Just Answer. Can you tell me a little more about your situation? Were you in these rooms when you smelled the smell or did you walk through the house and only smelled it in those rooms. With the information you posted my first thought is that your central air conditioner (assuming you have one) is picking up the smell and broadcasting it to other rooms. It is possible that something in your air handler, such as a belt, could be going bad but then you would probably smell it every where. Or it could possibly be something in the walls that could be leaking into the duct work. In that case the smell could be isolated into only one or a few rooms if they share the same duct line. Are the two rooms connected by a floor or wall between (meaning just above or below or the next room over) if so it is likely they could share a duct. If you feel this answer was helpful to you please remember to click the ACCEPT this answer button or if you need some more help just click the reply button. Thanks. Mike

Edited by Mike W on 8/21/2009 at 2:43 PM

92 days and 7 hours ago.

Reply

I was in the rooms when I smelled the smell. I didn't smell it in any other rooms at the time. I did not smell it in the air duct either. The two rooms are on different floors and opposite sides of the house.

Accepted Answer

If the smell was isolated in those rooms when it happened than the only thing I can think of that the rooms would have in common is the duct work. If you think it could be an electrical issue you can check some of the following. 1. check for tripped breakers in your main panel, and sub panel/s if you have any. 2 Use an electrical socket tester or a working lamp or alarm clock to test all the sockets to be sure they still have electric. Some sockets may work by a switch and some will have only the top or bottom part of the plug working on the switch and the other half will be hot all the time. Could your heating system have turned on (assuming heat and AC don't share same system). Sometimes when they come on after not having been used for a while it smells like something burning. Another consideration is possibly dust on a hot light fixture. Maybe you have a laptop you transported from room to room that is overheating. If it isn't any of these things I don't know what else to suggest. I hope some of this is helpful to you in solving your problem. If so please remember to click the ACCEPT this answer button. If not you can still reply back to me or if you like you can repost your question and another expert may be able to help you further. Thanks. Mike

Accepts:
Expert:	Mike W
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Answered:	8/22/2009

General C&ontractor

20 years exposure to the Home Improvement industry.

Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.