panicking about smoke/HCN inhalation from laptop charger?!

[eastofeden]

Okay so my roommate's laptop charger fell apart and instead of throwing it away he fixed it together with tape. I noticed it was sparking and smelled weird so I told him it didn't seem safe. He doesn't get worried about anything so he continued to use it even though it smells of burning. Well today I sat in the living room watching movies and a few hours later I smelled a weird sweet burning smell and realized the charger was plugged in! I immediately unplugged it and opened the windows but now I'm so scared that I was inhaling toxic fumes. My heart is beating fast and I feel a bit dizzy and now I'm so scared. I heard burnt plastics/electronics can release cyanide gas and it says the symptoms are dizziness and fast heart rate! :( What should I do. There was no smoke or fire but what if the vapours were already released! I'm so worried...I was in there for hours!

[Fishmanpa]

Being that you're logged in and waiting for a reply a significant period of time from your initial post, I'd say all is well.

Positive thoughts

[hanshan]

I don't know about cyanide gas, but a sparking charger sounds pretty dangerous to me. If your mate doesn't want to do anything about it, take the charger to a computer shop (a proper one, not just a retail outlet) and ask them if they have a matching replacement. Often they have a pile of second-hand ones, and one might match. I don't think they are easily repaired, but I could be wrong.

[MyNameIsTerry]

The first thing to say is - throw that charger away! The most obvious risk here is fire.

The next thing to understand is - we eat foods that contain cyanide. Did you know that? It's perfectly safe in the ways we do eat it so don't think "cyanide OMG that is used to kill people" because it just isn't like that. It's all about the quantity. We are surrounded by objects that have been manufactured using cyanide yet we are all fine and anyone who smokes is taking it in everytime they do so.

Cyanide poisoning presents in minutes. You didn't realise for hours. AND what you are describing sounds more like some smouldering of the plastic and/or it's contents, not a fire.

HCN has a "bitter almond" smell. Bitter, NOT sweet. Not everyone can smell it anyway but you can certainly smell smouldering plastic & metals.

[eastofeden]

Yep, he finally very reluctantly caved and bought a new one. It wasn't even electrical tape, it was masking tape of all things. Honestly, he knows what a worrywart I am, I feel like he enjoys winding me up! It actually burned the carpet a little and I told him he needed to get rid of it or it was going to burn the entire house down. I think I need a new roommate. :doh: