Dealing with odors coming from heating vents can be maddening particularly when the odor smells of rotten eggs or dead animals you d like to think your house is not only clean but tightly sealed against invasion from the outside.
Odor from heating ducts.
In many cases you ll smell it before you can see it.
Here are 5 common hvac odors and what they indicate.
If your hvac unit smells like it might be overheating it very well could be.
First check the air filter to see if it is very dirty as this can restrict the air flow and overheat the electric resistance heaters.
The quicker you detect the decomposition the better.
Contact a professional hvac or pest management company immediately.
Rotting carcass or dirty trash smells.
Air ducts in a ventilation system are designed to transport air so that you feel more comfortable in your home.
However sometimes you will notice not so desirable smells coming from your air duct system.
First turn off the ac system.
If there is mold in your hvac system you should be able to smell the strange musty odor in multiple adjacent rooms.
Turn your unit off before attempting to diagnose the problem.
Ducts of this kind are often used with a forced air furnace or a central heating and cooling system.
If you notice a musty or moldy smell that goes away when you are not using your air conditioning or heating if they share ducts that can narrow the cause down to mold in your hvac system.
This article will guide you through the process of finding out whether or not you have mold in your air ducts and what you can do about it.
If the mold problem is quite severe you should be able to spot the growth around the ducts in the vents and the other parts of the ductwork.
Tracking down building odors associated with the heating or cooling ductwork can be tricky not only because there is a larger variety of possible sources of duct smells and stinky ducts than you might guess but also because once an odor source has invaded the hvac system smells can be delivered to other more remote building areas.
An unusual or musty odor is often the first sign of mold in air ducts or in air vents.
Unfortunately though microbes and mice often find a way into walls and heating systems from the surrounding soil.
Next open some doors and windows for ventilation.
Inspect all the ducts connected to your heating system so make sure there are no gaps.
If a critter has died in your hvac or duct system the smell will quickly become impossible to ignore.
Any odor that drifts into the duct system will lead to odor all through the house as the blower pushes the smell out through the vents.
There are a number of reasons why musty smells might be coming from your air ducts system.