# Black soot above receptacles



## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

Does anyone have any thoughts as to the cause?

There are a few receptacles like this: interior, partition walls as well as exterior. New home owner.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

Dust/dirty air entering at the receptacle. Seal it with foam, a gasket.


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## dsconstructs (Jul 20, 2010)

I've seen plug in DC transformers do that, not exactly sure why.....guessing the combination of heat and dust attraction? Though I'm sure I'd open them up to check the wiring/receptacle to be sure.


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## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

I thought about that. 

But, if that was the case, wouldn't it be more generally indicated around the entire receptacle as opposed to mainly above?


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## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

Also, electrical service was upgraded, but the home was built in 1925.


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## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

Four receptacles in living room. Two out of the four are like this.

The new HO hasn't used them. It's been that way since she purchased the house.


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## dsconstructs (Jul 20, 2010)

I'm still going with my guess :laughing:


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## Frank Castle (Dec 27, 2011)

I've seen this happen behind the nightlights plugged into the outlet.


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## Germantown (Jan 4, 2014)

Ive witnessed this in my own house before I Rewired . Mine did the same thing due to the circuit being overloaded . Its a miracle my house did not burn down . A simple check with an infrared temp gun will confirm . My situation was a result of using two space heaters on the same circuit . Whoever wired my home ran most all of the receptacles to one circuit.


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## builditguy (Nov 10, 2013)

Kind of a different thought, but could it be coal dust being sucked out of the walls. I've seen alot of older homes, that had been heated with coal, have a ton of coal dust inside the walls.
Probably off the mark, but who knows.


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## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

Just more info: the house has gas radiator heat and cold forced air. The ducts were added by the previous owner for the air conditioning.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

I think the fact that it's on partition walls tends to rule out air leaks. Looks like a heat signature from wall warts or just heavy current draw, where heat creates an updraft and concomitant "contamination" of the wall surface.

If it's cleaned up and/or repainted, and nothing unusual plugged in there, I wouldn't expect it to recur.


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## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

Did you pull the receptacles to check for any obvious wiring issues?


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## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

No.
I was originally there for windows and some water damage...kinda snowballed from there.

My plan is to clean the area and replace the receptacles with new, at which time I'll check in wires for signs of overload.

The back-drafting idea sounds plausible as does the previous owners using plug-in air fresheners.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Night light or air freshener. Or, bad outlet.


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## C'est Moi (Jun 6, 2015)

This is due to excess heat at the receptacles. You could have a loose connection or it could have been caused by something that was plugged in. I have seen a defective vacuum cleaner do this. Customer was sure it was the receptacle but the vacuum was the culprit because the cord had a loose connection.

Wal wart is a possibility but if this is happening at 3 outlets it makes me think of a loose connection


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## mski (Apr 4, 2013)

hdavis said:


> Night light or air freshener. Or, bad outlet.


I would go with the air freshener. Seen this a few times with the Glade plug-in air fresheners. People plug them and never replace them.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

I've seen that in all sorts of random receptacles, recently in a kitchen on a couple backsplash outlets. If the backside of the plate is fine, I don't worry, as long it's not actual charring. It usually wipes off easily with windex or a magic eraser.


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## 99cents (Sep 8, 2015)

Almost guaranteed it's an electrical issue, most likely back stabbed receptacles or a remote chance that it's aluminum wiring. It might just be old receptacles. I have had old receptacles crumble when I remove them.

Combine that with a high current load like a space heater or high amp vacuum and you've got smoke. Like some guys have said, a night light might even cause it.

Changing existing switches and receptacles on a reno job is a nice little upsell. Not only does it give the job a nice, finished look, it takes care of some safety concerns as well.


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