Heating And AC Repair: 8 Common HVAC Odors And What Causes Them | Azle, TX
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HVAC systems can smell bad too. If you smell any odors coming from your HVAC system, then it’s a good chance that there’s something incredibly wrong with your system and you need to call a licensed technician right away for heating and AC repair. These aren’t problems that you want to sit on. The longer that you wait, the worse that the problem can become. In some cases, the odors can be an indication that there’s something very dangerous going on.
Our article will provide you with more details on what some of the more common HVAC odors may be and what causes them. If you smell any of these odors, call for heating and AC repair right away. The good news is that our licensed contractors offer emergency HVAC services in Azle, TX and will be able to get to you right away. We’ll be able to fix the problem immediately, so you don’t have to sit around and worry.
If our technicians recommend that you leave the house until they arrive, please do so. Staying within the home may be dangerous. Take your pets and your children and wait outside. Once our technicians arrive, we’ll let you know when and if it’s safe to go back in. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
#1. Electrical Odors
Does your HVAC unit smell like it’s overheating? Do you smell electrical odors similar to something that you’d smell if your computer was overheating? This is a sign that your HVAC system needs heating and AC repair.
To determine what the problem is, our technicians will first need to turn the unit off. We’ll check the air filters to see if they’re dirty and restrict overall air flow inside the unit. This can cause the electric resistance heaters to overheat. If the problem doesn’t lie with the filters, we’ll look at other electric work within the HVAC unit. It may be a sign that there’s something wrong with the motor or the wiring. If you are not licensed, you don’t have the technical know-how to deal with either of these things, and attempting to do any heating and AC repair yourself can lead to some very serious injuries.
If you smell gunpowder or carbon, it usually means that either the onboard motor is burnt out or the circuit board has shorted. Most technicians can follow their noses to find the cause of the problem. Odors that smell like exhaust fumes are usually caused by leaks. These leaks will only worsen if you don’t get them fixed as soon as possible.
#2. Rotten Eggs or Sulfur
Rotten eggs are often described as a sulfur smell. This is a common smell that many people may smell in their plumbing. Surprisingly, it’s also a smell that you can smell from your HVAC unit. A rotten egg smell is an indication that you have a natural gas leak somewhere. Most of the time, natural gases are odorless. To ensure that homeowners are able to quickly identify that there’s a leak, most utility providers will add a rotten egg smell to the gases, so they’ll quickly know that something is wrong.
A rotten egg smell could also be caused by a dead animal in your AC unit. This is particularly common if your HVAC unit relies on ducts. The smell comes from the decomposing carcass. Don’t expect the smell to get better anytime soon. The decomposing carcass can also release gases, bacteria and viruses that are a danger to your health. Our repair services will look for the dead animal and dispose of it properly.
If you turn on the HVAC unit and smell a rotten egg smell, you need to call for heating and AC repair immediately. Open your windows, turn off the gas and the unit and get outside of your home immediately. This could be a sign that there’s a huge danger lurking around.
#3. Skunk
Does it smell like there’s a skunk running inside your HVAC system? If you can smell that unbearable skunk smell, then you should consider taking a look at your gas system. It’s one of the first places that our licensed technicians will look when performing any type of heating and AC repair for your home. Oftentimes, many gas companies will add methyl mercaptan to natural gases and propane. This helps homeowners detect dangerous leaks, and skunk smells coming from your HVAC system should be taken very seriously.
If you smell skunk smells coming from your HVAC system, make sure that you turn off the gas, open the windows and call for heating and AC repair immediately. This is considered an emergency. If our licensed technicians recommend that you stay outside, please do so. This is similar to smelling a rotten egg smell.
If you smell a skunk smell, you may also want to call your gas company as well.
#4. Stinky Feet
Do you smell stinky feet whenever you turn your HVAC unit on? If so, there’s probably undrained water sitting somewhere in your HVAC unit. This undrained water has collected and pooled into a certain area and is sitting stagnant. This is a huge problem in and out of itself, as it may indicate that you have a leak. Stagnant water will also attract microbes, like fungi and mold, that could be dangerous to your health. It could also mean that there are other issues with your HVAC system.
Once again, this is another odor that you’ll want to call a licensed HVAC contractor for heating and AC repair services right away. They’ll likely have to disassemble the unit in order to find the source of the smell. Your technician will also be able to drain the unit properly and let you know how to drain it yourself. If you need the unit drained frequently, they can schedule in some type of maintenance service timeline with you.
#5. Sewage
It’s definitely hard to ignore the smell of sewage. If you smell sewage in your plumbing, it usually means that there’s something wrong with the sewer line. But, what does it mean if you smell sewage whenever you turn your HVAC on?
This usually means that the sewer line near the ductwork has ruptured or leaked. The methane gas inside the sewer line has seeped into the HVAC system, and has spread throughout the home as a result. The smell can be quite heinous and can spread rather quickly. It’ll take some time for it to air out. In these situations, our HVAC contractors may work with a plumbing company to solve the problem for you.
Do note that this is a heating and AC repair emergency, as methane gas can be harmful in large quantities to the human body. It’s also flammable, so you want to avoid lighting a stove in the meantime.
#6. Gas/Burnt Smell
If you smell gases in your home, it could be that dust particles are getting burnt off in your HVAC unit. During the summer, dust within the ductwork may settle on the heat exchanger. When you turn the heating system on during the winter, the dust gets burnt off right away. Usually, you’ll notice that you smell this only for the first day or two and is only coming from the vents. This isn’t necessarily a problem that requires immediate heating and AC repair.
If, however, you smell a burnt smell coming from the AC unit and not from the vents, there’s a good chance that you either have a leak at a pipe fitting somewhere or a leak within the equipment. Unlike burnt dust, this isn’t a problem that you should attempt to fix by yourself. You’ll need to call an HVAC technician in Azle, TX right away for heating and AC repair services.
#7. Musty or Moldy Smells
It’s not unusual to smell mold or something musty whenever you turn on the HVAC system. These odors are not foreign to many homeowners. HVAC systems can collect a lot of condensation within the unit. If the system cannot drain this condensation properly, it will escape into the ducts and create the perfect environment for bacteria and mold to grow. Sometimes, you’ll be able to easily tell that there’s mold if the growth is near the vents. Mold can be a wide variety of colors, from white to green to brown to black. If you see the molds in the vents, they can be cleaned easily.
However, sometimes, you may not necessarily see the mold, but you can smell it. This means that the mold is probably hiding within the ductwork. Our licensed technicians will need to disassemble the unit during the heating and AC repair in order to find the source of the problem.
Depending on what type of mold or mildew is growing within your unit, this may or may not be a problem. Some types of mold are fairly harmless and you can wait for the next heating and AC repair to get rid of it. With that said, allowing both mold and mildew to grow within your HVAC unit and not calling for heating and AC repair could result in poor air quality. Those with weak systems may have an increased risk of respiratory infections. Those with allergies or asthma may find that their conditions get triggered rather frequently.
#8. Oil
This is a rather odd odor to smell. It could be an indication that there’s an oil leak somewhere or it could be a sign that there’s something much more nefarious going on. The problem could lie within the oil line, the filter or even the oil burner. Common causes of this odor could be a bad fuel pump or a clogged burner.
If you smell oil, you need to watch for soot, smoke and unusual sounds. You’ll want to report any of these things to the HVAC technician when they come around for the heating and AC repair services.
Pinpoint the Issue
If you notice any disgusting odors coming from the HVAC system, you can always call for heating and AC repair immediately. You can also help out our licensed technicians by making note of which rooms smell weird and where the smell appears to be coming from. Oftentimes, the odors may have spread throughout the house by the time that our technicians arrive.
You’ll also want to note down whether the odors were accompanied by any weird sounds or any other issues. If we have more information about all of the symptoms, we can easily diagnose the problem and figure out where to start looking for the root cause of the odor.
Call Our Licensed Technicians in Azle, TX If Your HVAC System Smells Bad
If you smell anything funny or unusual with your HVAC system, one of the first things that you should do is call us for heating and AC repair. Provide us with some details as to what you smell, when you smell it and whether it is accompanied by any sounds or noises, and we can give you more idea as to whether the smell signifies an emergency or simply a problem that should be dealt with soon.
One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating has served Tarrant County since 1988. We have provided affordable HVAC services to those in Azle, TX for years now and have a great reputation with the community. Our technicians are licensed, background checked, drug-tested, NATE certified and always receiving ongoing training to better their education. We specialize in a wide range of heating and AC repair services and can get the job done efficiently and quickly. We focus on quality in our staff, work and products.
To learn more about the heating and AC repair services that we offer (or to reach us about a concerning odor coming from your HVAC system), contact us online or give us a call at 817-283-6911. You can also find us on social media sites. We have Facebook, Youtube and a Google page!