Fishy, hot plastic, or acrid — and nothing in sight. Something behind a plate or in a box is cooking.
Three causes cover almost every call we get for this.
A loose wire nut or backstab in a box you cannot see, often behind furniture or in the ceiling.
A loose lug or breaker terminal at the panel. Smell strongest near the panel.
An over-wattage bulb cooking a fixture, or a doorbell transformer failing in the basement.
Takes a minute, costs nothing, fixes it more often than you would think.
Feel every cover plate and the panel door for warmth. Turn off the breaker for anything warm.
Still happening? That's our job.
Smells come from heat, and heat behind a wall is a fire in progress.
Online or by phone. A technician reaches out within 1 business hour.
Traced to the box or device it lives in. Exact price before any work, you approve it first.
Right parts, tested under load, next connection checked so it does not come back.
A burning, hot-plastic or fishy smell with no visible source is almost always an electrical connection overheating out of sight: inside a wall box, a junction box in the attic, a light fixture, the panel, or an outlet behind furniture. The fishy smell is specific to overheating plastic insulation and wire nuts. Walk the house feeling cover plates for warmth; turn off the breaker for any warm one, and if you cannot find it, turn off the main and call — an electrician finds it with a thermal camera in minutes.
Smoke, flame, or a hot wall: yes, leave and call 911. Smell only: turn off what you can and call us now.
Same-day priority. Call (206) 486-6373.
Exact price after we find the source, before any work starts.
We find it. A thermal camera shows an overheated connection through drywall. If the smell was something non-electrical, we tell you that too.
Licensed electricians across South King and Pierce County. Exact price before any work starts.
The service that fixes this.
See the serviceA hot-plastic or fishy smell, or black marks on the face: the connection has already overheated.
Learn moreA hot-plastic smell at the panel is heat damage happening.
Learn more