Are you experiencing difficulties with your furnace system? Call Leith Heating & Cooling today for a permanent fix.
Furnace systems work quietly in the background to keep your home warm through the winter months. Most people don’t think about theirs when everything works properly within the system. However, it will throw up some concerns from time to time, including strange furnace smells.
What does that funky smell mean? Should you rush off to your search box to input “furnace help near me,” or will it all fade away after some time?
In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the most common examples of strange furnace smells and what they mean.
1. Burning Smell
A burning smell coming through the vents as your furnace runs is common. In many cases, you can trace this smell to dust buildup in the air duct, heat exchanger, or burners following a long period of inactivity.
Many people report experiencing a burning smell when the furnace kicks in for the first time during the cooling season. However, the dust-related burning smell only lasts a couple of hours. If it lasts longer, you likely have a problem.
In the best-case scenario, you have a dirty air filter that needs replacing. In the worst case, you have melting wires in the system. In that latter case, you’ll need to call in an HVAC expert immediately.
2. Musty Smell
If you perceive a musty smell or dirty sock odor as your furnace runs, you probably have mold or mildew in your furnace or air ducts. Mold grows in air ducts in high-humidity environments such as ours here in Illinois.
You should request an air duct cleaning service right away if you suspect mold or mildew growth in your air ducts. Otherwise, your indoor air quality will continue to dwindle with every passing day.
Mold produces allergens that can trigger diverse allergic reactions such as nasal congestion, sneezing, watery eyes, itchy throat and nose, and more.
3. Rotten Egg Smell
The rotten egg smell wafting through your vents belongs to the sulfur in natural gas. It shows you have a gas leak. Natural gas is odorless, but your gas company adds sulfur to make it easier for you and other homeowners to know when you have a leak.
You should turn off the gas supply immediately if you smell this odor. Open up windows and doors for the gas to escape and get everyone outside until your gas company arrives. Inhaling natural gas for too long can cause a range of symptoms, including:
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Breathing difficulties
- Nasal blisters
- Headaches
You should seek emergency medical care if you already experienced any of these symptoms before figuring out the source of the strange furnace smells. Prolonged exposure to natural gas can be fatal.
4. Car Exhaust Smell
These strange furnace smells often confuse homeowners the most. Your furnace should naturally generate fumes, but should you perceive them while relaxed in your living areas?
In a word, no.
Furnace systems have vent pipes for transferring combustion gases outside your home. If you notice a scent that smells like exhaust fumes, you should call in the experts to confirm that carbon monoxide isn’t re-entering your home.
5. Sewer Smell
Sometimes, furnace systems may give off that sewer smell that we’ve come to associate with a blocked toilet or clogged kitchen drain. One major reason for this stems from a blocked drain line. The condensate pump goes into that drain line.
Therefore, any odors can reverse into your furnace system and into the air handler. Cleaning the drain line often solves the problem.
Another possible cause of the sewer smell is a dry sewer trap close to your furnace. You can solve this issue by pouring water down any floor drain near the furnace.
6. Metallic Smell
Do you have a strange metallic smell coming from your furnace as it runs? This can often indicate you have an overworked or malfunctioning furnace. The odor comes from overheating internal components. Turn off the furnace and give it some time to rest before you resume using it again.
If the metallic smell persists, call in an HVAC expert to inspect your furnace for possible issues.
7. Sweet Formaldehyde Smell
Can you perceive a sweet chemical smell coming through your vents? You almost certainly have a carbon monoxide leak due to a cracked heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger doubles as a combustion exhaust. It processes the heat and the accompanying gases from the combustion process. Any cracks in it will mean some of those gases, including carbon monoxide, enter your indoor space.
Generally, carbon monoxide is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. However, the sweet smell can come from the interaction with other gases. Your heat exchanger should ordinarily last as long as the furnace system itself.
However, this metal component becomes prone to corrosion with prolonged exposure to high humidity. It can fail years ahead of your furnace system, releasing combustion gases into your home.
Some homeowners report not smelling any odors, but their carbon monoxide detector often goes off when the furnace runs for some time. This also indicates a cracked heat exchanger. As we mentioned above, carbon monoxide is generally odorless.
It can enter your home for minutes without you knowing if you don’t have a carbon monoxide detector.
Repairing cracks in heat exchangers is impractical. You’ll have to call in a technician to replace the entire thing.
Call Leith Heating & Cooling for Efficient Furnace Repair in Elgin, Illinois
Are you experiencing any strange furnace smells? You should schedule a professional inspection with us here at Leith Heating & Cooling. During the inspection, our technician can either confirm that you don’t have a serious issue or carry out fixes when they notice significant concerns.
We can fix furnace gas leaks, replace cracked heat exchangers, flush condensate lines, and more.
Are you currently experiencing any of the above strange furnace smells? Call the Leith Heating & Cooling team in Elgin, Illinois, today at (847) 648-9977 to schedule a consultation.
