# Help! Strange smell coming from the ceiling



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Are there dead insects in the fixture?

Do you have a favorite handy person? To do a little investigation? Maybe a condo supervisor, Uncle, cousin. somebody?

An un described smell could be any thing, So we really do not know where to start you at.

ED


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## a2them (Sep 5, 2014)

HI Ed, thanks for the reply. The smell can be best described as sewage and mildew. The light is not an actual fixture. I just screw a lightbulb into the ceiling, so there are not dead insects. I just find it so strange that there is ZERO oder while the light is off.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

The bulb is warming something up. Could even be melting wires if something is not done correctly.

Turn off the breaker, remove a couple of screws and drop the cover.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

123pugsy said:


> The bulb is warming something up. Could even be melting wires if something is not done correctly. Turn off the breaker, remove a couple of screws and drop the cover.


+1

Keep us posted. I'm interested to see what you find out and what it turns out to be. Is there any one above you?


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

123pugsy said:


> The bulb is warming something up. Could even be melting wires if something is not done correctly.
> 
> Turn off the breaker, remove a couple of screws and drop the cover.


That is what I would do next. 

If you are not comfortable working with electricity, get someone to do I for you. 

Might have had a sewage leak up stairs, and the insulation between the units got some on it, and is heating up enough to stink. 

ED


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## md2lgyk (Jan 6, 2009)

Do you know if any repairs were ever made in that closet? I have never smelled it, but have read that the cheap Chinese drywall used a lot after Hurricane Katrina has some sort of odor to it.


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## nanuk (Aug 14, 2011)

The lamp holder (this is where you screw the light bulb in) emits the odor.
Certain plastics are notorious for generating this foul smell when hot, especially as they age.
Replace with a new fixture, preferably using a porcelain lamp holder.


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## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

What kind of bulb is in there now? CFLs are sometimes problematic in those situations as the heat from the CFL bulb radiates upward, shortening the life of the electronics within the base.

I'd definitely get that fixture removed from the junction box and inspect both it and the wiring. There need to be no signs of overheating. Especially not within any wire nuts or other means to fasten the wires.

That and consider replacing the bulb with a lower consumption LED light. Those typically consume less wattage and thus generate less heat compared to similar light output incandescent bulbs. 

But start by getting a look inside the fixture/box.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Has the light bulb (incandescent) been changed somewhat just before this smell started? IF SO--did someone else change the bulb? I have a "HandyMan" type business and had a call a couple of years ago that fits this description. The lady's husband had recently changed the closet light bulb and there was this terrible smell right after the bulb change. The longer the light was on, the worse the smell. The culprit--the hubby had seen, or read, some where that using Vaseline on the base of the light bulb would make them easier to remove the next time you had to change that bulb. After I changed out the bulb and cleaned the socket (power off) the smell went away.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Vaseline on a light bulb?

:lol::lol::lol:

Watt a concept.

ED


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## stevergee (Aug 25, 2014)

We lived in a house where one bedroom had a light fixture that smelled really bad - we said it smelled like dead fish.
An electrician friend of ours said that can happen when the bulb wattage is not evenly matched between the 2 bulbs


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## r0ckstarr (Jan 8, 2013)

When I first moved into my house, we had a light that smelled like plastic burning when you turned it on. I thought it was an electrical problem and kept it off until I had a chance to look at it. Turned out that someone, somehow, got glue or something else on the bulb and it was burning off while the light was on. I replaced the bulb and the smell went away.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

stevergee said:


> We lived in a house where one bedroom had a light fixture that smelled really bad - we said it smelled like dead fish.
> An electrician friend of ours said that can happen when the bulb wattage is not evenly matched between the 2 bulbs


I believe your friend was pulling your leg.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

What is above the closet? Attic, another condo? Is the closet up against an exterior wall, middle of house?


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## nanuk (Aug 14, 2011)

Just go ahead and replace that lamp socket...
If the socket is not plastic, then start investigating other scenarios.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

+1

Best bet at this point and will allow you to inspect above the ceiling plane.


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