Furnaces shouldn’t emit weird smells. When you smell a strange odor coming from your furnace, you should spring into action and request professional help as soon as possible. It may be useful for homeowners in Toano, VA, to know what different furnace odors mean. Here’s the rundown on the causes of three common furnace odors.
Sulfur or Rotten Eggs
This is an incredibly awful smell, which is a good thing. Few can endure the stench of rotten eggs for long without trying to do something about it. This is as it should be because that odor is a reliable sign of serious danger.
When you smell rotten eggs or sulfur coming from your furnace, it usually means the system has been leaking gas and there’s a chance a fire will break out. You should open the doors and windows, evacuate your home, call 9-1-1 and the gas company as soon as possible to stop the leak.
Decomposition
The pungent odor of something decomposing indicates pretty reliably that some kind of animal probably crawled somewhere into your HVAC system and died. The animal may have somehow crawled into your ductwork or found its way into an outside vent. Since finding and removing the animal carcass can be a difficult and delicate task, you should ask an HVAC professional to do it for you.
Dust or Car Exhaust
These odors typically arise when your furnace has an airflow or ventilation problem. You’re likely to smell dust if you have an old, dust-covered air filter that’s obstructing the airflow through your system. The smell of car exhaust may indicate that your system’s flue pipe is full of debris or is otherwise faulty.
You can fix the former problem on your own by replacing your filters. The latter issue, however, requires professional intervention.
Don’t ignore bad furnace odors. Instead, call us at Kearney & Sons for high-quality heating repair service in Toana, VA.
Image provided by iStock
