Furnace problems stink. Sometimes literally.
It can be easy to assume a smelly house is a dirty house, but stinky furnaces don’t care how often you clean the rest of your house. You could have the cleanest house in the world, but your furnace might smell like rotten eggs or burning rubber. That’s because there’s probably something wrong!
We’ll discuss some of the most common furnace smells below to help you understand.
1) Burning Plastic or Rubber Smells, or a Metallic Smell
What’s worse than a burning smell? Almost nothing… especially if it’s coming from your heating system.
If you smell something like burning plastic, rubber, or metal, it’s probably coming from an overheating component in your furnace.
Turn your furnace off and call your trusted HVAC company (cough cough… Morris-Jenkins!) If a part of your furnace is overheating, it could turn into a fire in your home. It’s best to have us out to make sure everything looks ok before you turn it back on.
2) Smoke Smells
Your furnace is a controlled fire burning in your home. That means all the gases and smoke from the fire have to go somewhere. That’s what your flue is for! If your furnace’s flue is blocked, that smoke can’t escape, so it’ll stay in your home instead. Sometimes, flues can get blocked by debris, but sometimes they can get blocked by animals or bird nests.
If your house smells like smoke when your furnace is running, shut it off and give us a call. The HVAC technicians at Morris-Jenkins can get whatever it is cleared out so the smoke leaves your home again!
You might also be interested in: Dangers of Animals and Your HVAC System
3) Rotten Egg and Sewage Smells
Some gases don’t naturally smell like anything. That’s why gas companies actually ADD a stinky odor to natural gas! That way, if you ever have a leak, you’ll be able to smell it and know things aren’t safe. All this to say… if you smell rotten eggs or sewage when your furnace is running, it’s dangerous! You probably have a gas leak, and you need to get out and call us to take a look at it right away.
4) Burning Dust Smells
If you just started your furnace up for the season and you notice the smell of burning dust, don’t panic! That smell is normal and will start to go away after a couple of days of running your furnace. If the smell doesn’t seem to be getting better, check your air filters—you might be due to change them. If you change your filters, let the furnace run for a few days, and the smell still won’t go away, then it’s time to call us to check it out.
5) Chemical Smells
Did you ever have to dissect a frog back in junior high? If you have, you might remember the gross smell of formaldehyde. If you smell this in your home, it’s likely a crack in your heat exchanger. If that’s the case, your family is at risk of carbon monoxide leaks. Shut your furnace off and have us come out to check it before turning it back on.
6) Pet Odors
If your home suddenly smells like animal urine or wet dog, you might have some pet waste or fur near your furnace registers (the vents in the floor). If you catch a strong animal scent every time your HVAC system kicks on, check for messes near these vents. Cleaning it up should fix the problem!
7) Musty Smells
If your home has a musty, earthy smell, chances are your coils or ductwork are growing something they definitely shouldn’t be. Growth spores can make your family sick and can really bring down your home’s air quality. You can call us out to check for growth on the unit, but if we don’t find any on your system, it’s probably in the ductwork.
Unfortunately, we don’t even recommend having your ductwork cleaned. When you clean ductwork, you’re probably gonna damage it accidentally because it’s pretty fragile.
We hate to say it, but you’re usually better off just replacing all of the ductwork rather than wasting time and money cleaning it, only to end up replacing it when you realize it’s been torn (which can cause all kinds of other issues in your home).
Either way, don’t put off dealing with musty odors in your home!
Bonus: Furnace Doesn’t Smell, but Carbon Monoxide Detector Is Beeping
Your furnace produces a deadly gas that you can’t smell. Every time you turn the heat on, your furnace is creating carbon monoxide inside its combustion chamber as part of the normal heating process. You can’t even see it or taste it, but carbon monoxide is incredibly dangerous if it ever leaks out of your system. Your carbon monoxide detector is there to keep your entire home protected.
If your carbon monoxide detector is beeping, don’t assume everything is ok just because you can’t smell gas. If you have a carbon monoxide leak, you won’t be able to smell it. You have to trust your detector, get out of your house, and call for help! We’ll send one of our technicians to figure out exactly where it’s coming from so we can get your home heating safely again. Most likely, the leak is coming from a crack in your heat exchanger.
Don’t have a carbon monoxide detector? Now’s the time to get one! You should have one on every floor of your house. And it’s important to remember to replace the batteries every year and replace the entire detector before it expires. Otherwise, it’s nothing more than a decoration. Here are some of our other recommended furnace safety features.
Related: Flu Symptoms that might actually be Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
HVAC Smells Don’t JUST Come from Your Furnace
Your furnace isn’t the only part of your heating and cooling system that might stink. Your air conditioning system can smell funky sometimes, too! If you ever notice a musty stench like sweaty gym socks, that’s actually such a common thing that it’s got a special name! It’s called “Dirty Sock Syndrome,” and it’s what happens when decaying organic material hangs out on your evaporator coil.
The smell can come from growth and bacteria on your unit. If the space around your unit (most likely your attic, basement, or crawl space) is humid, it’s gonna make this problem a lot more likely. Whether it’s heating or cooling season, make sure to keep up with filter changes to make sure this problem doesn’t happen in the first place!
Let Us Take a Look! Morris-Jenkins Offers Furnace Repairs in the Greater Charlotte, NC, Area
Furnace odors always have underlying causes, and they’re usually serious. If you smell something that just doesn’t seem normal when you’re running your furnace—trust your instinct!
If it doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t! This heating season, count on Morris-Jenkins to make sure your furnace is working at its best. Give us a call (or text us) and we’ll send a technician out to take a close look at everything. Your family deserves a home that’s safe, cozy, and stink-free!
We’re proud to provide all types of heating solutions, from furnace repair and replacement to furnace maintenance and more! Give us a call today for the quality heating service you deserve! Serving Charlotte is what we do best, and we’re always here when you need us most!
