Sweet burnt smell in house

June 9, 2015 2:49 AM

We woke up to a strong burnt sugar or maple syrup smell permeating the house but not the garage, attic, basement, or outdoors. Tell us what to do.
posted by gray17 to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Check all electrical outlets and wiring? (When we first moved into this house there was a strong smell of burned fish in one corner that turned out to be a dodgy power point.)
posted by humph at 3:08 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

It could be electrical. Consider cutting the power to the house using the circuit breaker, then
work through this checklist:

Isolate the odor;
Search possible sources, such as ventilation, heating and air-conditioning ductwork;
Ask residents about recently used appliances, such as the dishwasher, stove, microwave, self-cleaning oven, etc.;
Check light fixtures for darkened bulbs and heat;
Examine fuse/breaker boxes for heat;
Check computers (and ancillary equipment) for functionality;
Search trash receptacles for any discarded or burned food;
Scan immediate outdoor area for decomposing mulch;
Check in and around outdoor heating units for signs of skunks;
Run water down any drainpipes to restore traps; and
Use available resources such as a fresh, unclogged nose, heat guns, TICs and toolboxes.


http://www.firefighternation.com/article/strategy-and-tactics/investigating-strange-odors

You may want to call the fire department to investigate the strange odor. Half the time it's a nuisance call for them, the other half the time it's an averted fire.

In my house's case, it was the heat-recovery ventilator, part of the HVAC system, that had a fan motor burning up.

So flip the breaker and then do a room-by-room search unplugging everything and sniffing everything. And maybe call the fire department,
posted by sebastienbailard at 3:18 AM on June 9, 2015 [10 favorites]

In my house's case, it was the heat-recovery ventilator, part of the HVAC system, that had a fan motor burning up.

Good thought, the smell could easily be from overheating armature windings on an electric motor. Fans, AC units, fridge, dehumidifier... almost any electrical device with moving parts.
posted by jon1270 at 3:22 AM on June 9, 2015

I know this smell very well, and i've had it be any number of things. Bad wiring to the panel that never burned the place down, a computer power supply killing itself and nearly lighting my room on fire, a malfunctioning baseboard heater(which wasn't even entirely on!). The super sweet smell is almost always a motor though. Fridge, AC, HVAC/furnace blower/heat pump, seized ceiling fan, etc.

The two most recent times i can remember smelling that, especially in early summer time, it was shitty cheap fans burning up a motor.
posted by emptythought at 5:18 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: OK, turned out it was the HVAC motor.
posted by gray17 at 5:31 AM on June 9, 2015 [12 favorites]

Glad you found it! If you weren't able to find it (or for anyone else looking at this question in future) definitely call your fire department. They can use a thermal imaging camera to very easily find the overheating thing, whatever it is.
posted by ourobouros at 6:00 AM on June 9, 2015 [7 favorites]