Hi guys,

I am experiencing something very unusual at my home. I know nothing about electricity, but I think something fishy is going on in my apartment. I experience everything from dimming lights, to spark sounds when plugging in/out electrical appliances and turning off light switches. My recent issue is that I cannot run any appliance without getting these really paralyzing headaches. The first time I noticed this was with my AC, then my fan, then almost every other appliance in the darn house. I know its weird, but does anyone know what this could be? Could it be improper grounding or so?

Thankfully,

DebbySue M.

 

Step 1. See a good doctor about the headaches.
Step 2. See a good electrician about your house wiring.

Not a joke.

 

I know its weird, but does anyone know what this could be? Could it be improper grounding or so?

I've been in electronics for 25 years. I know of no issue with house wiring or appliances that can cause headaches. The other things, dimming lights and such, are cause by old or faulty wireing. How old is your house?

 

How tall is your apartment building and on which floor is your apartment?
It is known that the roof top of apartment buildings are used as locations for antennas for cell phone service. Check it out with your apartment superintendent.

 

Hi guys,

I am experiencing something very unusual at my home. I know nothing about electricity, but I think something fishy is going on in my apartment. I experience everything from dimming lights, to spark sounds when plugging in/out electrical appliances and turning off light switches. My recent issue is that I cannot run any appliance without getting these really paralyzing headaches. The first time I noticed this was with my AC, then my fan, then almost every other appliance in the darn house. I know its weird, but does anyone know what this could be? Could it be improper grounding or so?

Thankfully,

DebbySue M.

Your headaches are probably nothing to do with electricity,but are more likely due to stress from your ongoing electrical problems.

There is a lot of crud on the Internet about electricity causing all sorts of ailments,but it is usually propagated by people selling some magic gadget to make it all better.
Call the Electrician,& while he is fixing the problems,go to the Doctor.

Hopefully,there is nothing seriously wrong with you.
Of course,you will then stress about how you are going to pay the Electrician,but at least your wiring will be safe.

 

Thank you for responding. I live in a two family house. But not far from my home, are cell phone towers. I don't know what it has to do with the headaches, I notice the headaches only when the appliances are on, and relief as soon as I turn them off (sometimes I have to plug the whole unit out the wall). IDK, I know I sound really nutty right now, but IDK what this could be.

 

Thank you for responding. I live in a two family house. But not far from my home, are cell phone towers. I don't know what it has to do with the headaches, I notice the headaches only when the appliances are on, and relief as soon as I turn them off (sometimes I have to plug the whole unit out the wall). IDK, I know I sound really nutty right now, but IDK what this could be.

As others have said, the electrical problems are probably the result of at least some faulty wiring in the home. It should be checked out because it can eventually lead to a house fire.

The headaches are almost certainly psychosymmatic (sp?).

It's a two family house. Do you have headaches when the other family uses an appliance and you don't know about it?

The next several times you have a headache don't unplug the appliance yourself. Instead, have someone else (with you somewhere where you can't see or here what they do) flip a coin and unplug the appliance if its heads and leave it plugged in if it is tails. Then each of you record the time and whether it was actually unplugged and whether your headache goes away in the timeframe that you say it normally does after the appliance is unplugged. Now, these need to be appliances that you can't tell, other than by your headache, whether they are still on or not. After you have done this for at least twenty trials, see what fraction your headache went away when it was really unplugged or didn't go away if it wasn't.

 

Do you happen to have fluorescent lighting?

I've gotten headaches from fluorescent lights (mainly the tube lights) when they aren't functioning properly - that is, they're about to fail and are flickering. If you're having power problems and that's affecting the light, then that could be causing your headaches.

By the way, what is actually going on is that the flickering lights are causing eye fatigue, which is then manifesting itself as a headache.

Also, it could be a high-pitched tone emanating from the appliances... if they're not operating with the right power, that could be the cause

 

Do you happen to have fluorescent lighting?



By the way, what is actually going on is that the flickering lights are causing eye fatigue, which is then manifesting itself as a headache.

This probably

 

Just a thought do you have any gas appliances in your house, it may be Carbon Monoxide poisoning?

 

I'd HIGHLY suggest getting a carbon monoxide detector just in case plus calling an electrician or talking to the apartment maintenance staff/building super RIGHT NOW.

One more random thought...
Ozone generation from electrical arching? You "should" be able to smell the ozone if thats the problem... Ozone can cause headaches..

 

I'd HIGHLY suggest getting a carbon monoxide detector just in case plus calling an electrician or talking to the apartment maintenance staff/building super RIGHT NOW.

One more random thought...
Ozone generation from electrical arching? You "should" be able to smell the ozone if thats the problem... Ozone can cause headaches..

Just out of interest : What does ozone smell like ?

 

Hello,

From the wiki:

Ozone's odor is sharp, reminiscent of chlorine, and detectable by many people at concentrations of as little as 10 parts per billion in air

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone

Bertus

 

If you have ever noticed a smell from a laser printer or photocopier, that's ozone.

 

Actually most of the smell from laser printer or photocopier is ammonia and plastic fumes from the melted toner.

Ozone smells "metallic", probably the best description. I've worked in industry electrical switching areas with obvious ozone levels.