Emily Mills, known on TikTok as @soemilymills, shared a video about a tabletop water fountain she bought at a Dollarama store for $5. She said she chose the item because she thought it would create a nice and soothing atmosphere at home. The product is described on its packaging as a tabletop water fountain with natural river stones that offers relaxing, gentle water with an ambient glow. In the TikTok video, which has drawn 1.7 million views, 122,100 likes and more than 1,000 comments, Mills showed the small black fountain with stacked rocks, a green succulent and river stones sitting on a windowsill. Water flowed from it, but she noted that it sounded like a dentist’s office and that her dog hated the noise. She said she added more water, which made the flow quieter yet messier. The unit is then seen stopped working. Mills later recorded close-up footage of the power connection where smoke rose visibly. She stated that the cute dollar store find “almost burnt my house down.” She exclaimed that it was literally smoking, that it smelled like fire, and that she quickly moved the fountain outside onto a ledge. Watching the footage back, she said she also observed that the ambient light never turned on. She rated the product 0 out of 10 and said she would not recommend it. Creator returns to Dollarama, buys the same model and tests it with batteries Mills posted a follow-up video on TikTok titled as Part 2 in which she addressed what happened. She said that the fire might actually be her fault and that she can admit when she is wrong. She returned to the dollar store and purchased the exact same tabletop water fountain. On the back of the box she read the instructions aloud: insert 2 AA batteries, which are not included, and noted that the adapter is also not included. @soemilymills I almost BURNT my house down Cute dollar store find PART2 #fire #dollarstorefinds #dollarstore #foryoupage ♬ sonido original – M E L Ø D I Ɛ S She explained that she had previously plugged the original unit into an adapter from her laptop charger. The voltage was way too high and fried the motor. In the new video she held up the replacement box labeled homeecco TABLETOP WATER FOUNTAIN and unboxed the unit, which came with a small bag of decorative stones, a black base, a faux succulent and a rock formation. Mills inserted two AA batteries into the compartment on the bottom of the fountain. She filled the reservoir with water from a blue plastic bottle and turned the unit on. She observed that it was already a lot quieter than the first one. Once fully assembled and running on a table, water flowed gently over the rocks while a small light illuminated the center. She pointed out that the sound could not even be heard. She repeated that it was definitely her fault for using the laptop charger with excessive voltage, which damaged the motor of the first fountain. The replacement had been running for a while with no fire. Mills told viewers not to hate on her too much, adding that she is just a girl, and invited people to share in the comments if they had ever experienced anything similar. She closed by saying we live and we learn. Product-related mishaps can have serious consequences, as when a woman warned her dress allegedly melted after a purchase. @soemilymills 0/10 definitely would not recommend cute dollar store find almost burnt my house down #dollarstore #dollarstorefinds #dollarama #fire #nope ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono – moshimo sound design In the original video Mills had said, “Oh my god, it’s literally smoking!” and later, “Oh my f–king God, oh my God, it smells like fire!” After moving the smoking unit outside she showed the product packaging again and repeated that nothing about the experience had been relaxing. She left open the question of whether the first unit was simply a dud or whether the problem was common to the product in general, noting that it cost only $5. Viewers responded to the first video with comments that focused on the power source. One wrote, “it’s the wrong cord you can’t just a random cord.” Another stated, “#1. its a Dollar store item (cheap) #2. You plugged it in a laptop charger (too powerful).” A third commented, “That thing was definitely getting too much voltage.” Additional remarks included, “Everyone’s talking about how she used the wrong cord but why doesn’t the product come with the cord needed to use it…?” and “Stop buying cheap electronics.” Such mishaps can escalate quickly, as when a woman was confronted after her dog defecated on a grocery store floor and she claimed it was a service animal.