How-to guide
What to Do When You Smell Electrical Burning
The three steps to take when you smell burning plastic or a hot electrical odor in your home.
- Find out whether there is smoke. If there is visible smoke or flame, get everyone out and call 911. Nothing below matters more than that.
- Kill power to the area if you can reach the panel safely and know which breaker it is. If you do not know, switch off the main.
- Leave it off and call an electrician. A burning smell that stops is not a problem that stopped.
The smell fading is not the all-clear. Overheated insulation smells strongest while it is cooking and quiets down afterwards, and the damaged connection is still there, still carrying current, still heating up every time the circuit loads.