Lingering Electrical Smells: What Gives?

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Electrical shorts produce lingering smells due to the release of ozone and other toxic compounds, which are more noticeable to humans than organic odors. The smell can permeate the environment rapidly, making it difficult to eliminate without proper ventilation. Unlike organic smells, which dissipate quickly, electrical odors can persist due to their chemical nature. Ozone, being highly toxic, may trigger a heightened awareness of these smells. Effective removal often requires ventilation and time away from the affected area.
pete worthington
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Lingering Electrical Smells

My toaster oven shorted out this morning. My wife saw a flash, a small flame and then very limited smoke. Then the smell...oh that lingering electrical stink that permeates the air spreading at the speed of light thoughout the house.

I qiickly removed the toaster oven and tossed it off the porch. Oh, isn't that fun! Then I put on the exhaust fan as my olfactory senses sent their signal to my brain which quickly recognized that smell, storing it in a place I do not wish to frequent. Yes there is a question here...

Why is it that electrical shorts have such powers of diffusion and linger? It seems the only way to rid of it is to ventilate, mask it with incense and get the heck out of there for a few hours. Organic smells clear much quicker and don't permeate like an electrical short. What's this all about ?
 
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pete worthington said:
Organic smells clear much quicker and don't permeate like an electrical short. What's this all about ?
Possibly it's more noticeable to us because ozone is highly toxic, the same as sulphur or chlorine which also linger. Maybe we're evolved to notice things like that more than something that's merely unpleasant.
 
Speaking of ozone, I've heard that those "Ionic Breeze"-like air purifiers produce ozone sometimes. As far as I know, it's just a long parallel plate capacitor, so maybe it's the impurities bridging the gap?
 

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