New England: A Strong, Fishy Smell in Your Home Means You Should Get Out and Get Help

Living in New England means you have access to the best of the best seafood. Can you have Maine lobster rolls any time of year? Yum.

However, as we seafood lovers know, the smell dissipates after cooking and baking. So even we seafood lovers who probably eat it more than most (since we live in Massachusetts and New Hampshire), 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 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.

Nine times out of ten, the smell will eventually spread to more than just the room where the main electrical issue, is according to Energy Today. 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 may be able to find and repair the overheating component, as well as check for other potential overheating problems, according to Energy Today.