My hot tools drawer basically caught fire last Friday

I opened my drawer to grab my flat iron and the cord was actually smoking. Melted right through the rubber grip on one of my shears sitting next to it. Anybody else have a tool just give up mid-day like that?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

rosed325mo ago

Nah it's not that they "give up" mid-day, more like the cord insulation just degrades over time from heat and bending. Happened to my old curling iron last year, smelled like burning plastic for a solid 10 minutes before I realized it was the cord touching the barrel. Those flat irons especially get hot enough to melt rubber if the cord gets pinched against the plate for a while. Check the plug prongs too, sometimes they get loose and arc inside the outlet. Had a straightener that left black marks on my bathroom wall from a bad connection.

4

the_james5mo ago

Wait, wait - @rosed32 said something about "black marks on my bathroom wall from a bad connection"? That's actually terrifying lmao. I've left curling irons plugged in while I hopped in the shower before and never even thought about that happening. The burning plastic smell part got me too, I think I'd just assume my hair was burning and keep going. Plus the pinched cord thing makes total sense now that I think about it, those flat iron plates clamp down hard enough to crush small bones lol.

1