A Strong, Fishy Smell in Your Home Means Get Out and Get Help, Connecticut

Living in Connecticut and New England in general as well as New York means access to the best of the best seafood.

Can you say Lobster Rolls any time of year? Yum.

However, as we seafood lovers know, the smell dissipates after cooking and baking. So even fish lovers stay alert here with me.

If there's a lingering fishy-like odor over days that may even have a bit of a burnt rubber smell mixed in, this means you and your home are in danger.

This pungent smell, especially the stronger it gets, is a sure sign of electrical wiring going awry in a major way. It's probably been happening for a while however it's easy to blow off smells and odors when they're not that strong.

According to the website Second Nature, you can either do some searching on your own to find where the strong, fishy smell is coming from or just get out of your home and call 911 which will most likely send the fire department quickly.

Nine times out of ten, the smell will eventually spread to more than just the room where the main electrical issue is according to the Energy Today website and that smell means that at least one electrical component is overheating and can easily break out into a fire.

While heat-resistant chemicals are used on most wires, circuit breakers, and so forth, overheating supersedes those protective chemicals radiating off this overpowering fishy and rubbery smell.

According to Energy Today, calling 911 is best if the smell is getting stronger and stronger because when breaker and fuse issues, overloaded circuits, loose wires, frayed cords, older electrical systems, or wire insulation breakdowns happen a fire can break out quickly.

However, if the fishy smell is mild and won't go away, an electrician, assuming they can get out to your house quickly, may be able to find and repair the overheating component as well as check for other potential overheating problems according to Energy Today.