Bell transformer short: electrical burning smell in house

Troubleshooting by phone saves customer service call expense

I recently had a call from a concerned customer, about an electrical burning smell in the house, after demolishing their own kitchen in preparation for a renovation and remodel. Sweeping up afterward, they saw some slight sparking on old wires that had had a lighted doorbell button connected.

With a few more questions, I quickly steered her into the basement and toward the following theory:

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Why do rodents chew wires?

I have found that chewed cables tend to be the ones that were not properly strapped along solid supports. It’s widely reported that rodent’s teeth never stop growing, and therefore require constant grinding to keep them from growing long enough to ‘hamper the hamster’. But why do they chew wires that could kill them?

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