For the last few days, it’s been life at the Marable houshold as usual, except we’ve had a few extra guest in the attic. So I set the usual trap and hoped for the best. We were surprised by the occasional fishy smells that were drifting down from the attic, but figured the smelly little beasts had done something unmentionable.

But there seemed to be a pattern. Every time someone took a shower in our master bedroom, the foulest fishy odor would greet you as you exited the bathroom into our bedroom. Gentlemen, this does not make for a good stories in any way.

Naturally, we googled about the smell, and it turns out that the odor is often related to electrical connections and appliances burning too hot, usually due to faulty wiring or wires having worked their way loose over time. After a very brief investigation, we found that the elecrtical outlet on the wall inside our bedroom as you enter the bathroom was hot (not warm, but hot) to the touch. Bam! As you can see from the picture inset, the outlet was toast. Literally. It crumbled apart when it was removed.

As it turns out, taking a shower just exacerbated the faulty electrical switch because the bathroom wiring was routed through that outlet. So the fish smell was greatest after having been in the bathroom with all of the lighting on for 15-20 minutes.

While I’m not certain why this happened, I have a theory. That outlet was essentially used as a juntion box for all the wiring of the bedroom and bathroom. As such, the electricians should have used a heavy duty outlet. What you can see above, they used a normal use outlet. Which worked fine for several years. But with a TV/DVR combination pluegged into it and running a hair dryer, curling iron, and 12 40 watt bulbs in the bathroom next door, it couldn’t stand up to the pressure over time.

Either way, the outlet’s been replaced. This post serves as a reminder to me, and a warning to you. Do NOT ignore that fishy smell. It could be the warning that saves your life.