Almost had a housefire a few weeks back. We left a Lasko box fan (that we use for white noise while sleeping) on during the day and when we went to go to bed there was a horrible burning smell coming from it and the motor was groaning and the blades were not turning. Clearly the motor died or botched somehow but since it was left on it was overheating (the fan was hot to the touch!) and spewing a burning plastic smell all over the house.
Obviously I threw the fan away, but weeks later the burning plastic smell remains. Health considerations aside, is there anything we can do to get rid of this smell? Leaving the windows open and running fans to air out the upstairs isn't really an option because we're heading into winter, the price of heating oil is high and its been in the low 40s consistently for the last week or so.
Best Answer
Time is the only real cure. Air out the house with the heaters off whenever the temperature is tolerable. Run the fans, not the heat and change your air filters a few times. You can also spray Febreze or other odor eliminators where appropriate (i.e. not on bed sheets, garments, food surfaces etc.), especially any carpets or rugs because fabric traps and holds smells like that. I like to use the unscented version but it's harder to find. These are not perfumes, they actually chemically neutralize odors and are basically temporary so if the smell is embedded in the paint on your walls or the carpet, it may return. But the odor eliminator will make it tolerable to live there. Also wash ALL of your sheets and garments that were exposed to it.
Article on how odor eliniators work.