If the wiring in the plug or in the back of the socket is not fixed tight, arcing occurs. This a small spark going on and off which causes the casing to the plug or the socket to overheat. When this happens you get a fishy smell which can be mistaken I suppose for ammonia. Replace the plug with a new one and make sure all the wiring is screwed down tight.
Electrical burning is a fishy smell, not ammonia.
I've just moved into a rental property. I knew there were problems that were being fixed, mainly a leaking chimney. The chimney was fixed by the time I moved in, but the wall was soaked and I was told it just needed to dry. I wasn't told to leave the windows open as much as possible (my mum told me to a couple of weeks later!) So the wall has only nearly dried now and I suspect the damp just spread about the house! We now have windows open all the time and much of the damp disappeared within a couple of days, and I cleaned up any mould that had appeared. My real issue is my mum visited and told me there was a really strong smell of ammonia (that I couldn't smell because I was always in the house). After she pointed it out I had a look around the area and noticed the smell was coming from one spot in particular. It's right beside the dog's bed, but he hasn't had any accidents and we didn't have a cat in the house. My mum had been in the house before and not noticed anything so I'm assuming it's not from the previous tenant (though not ruling it out completely - he had a dog) and it's a more recent thing. It seems to be coming from a plug socket, and there was quite a bit of damp/mould along the wall beside it, making the floor wet. I've read electrical sockets can cause an ammonia-type smell, but we haven't had any noticible problems with that plug. The smell won't go away no matter how much I clean it - what could it be and what can I do??
