Your heating system works hard to keep your Peachtree City home warm during the winter. It pulls cooler air through return ducts, heats the air and then pushes the air through supply ducts back to your living spaces. This process shouldn’t create any odors or smells in your home. So, if a furnace smell is emanating from your ducts, read on for tips on what to do to get rid of the shoo!

Smell of Burning Dust

When you start your furnace for the first time of the heating months, you may experience the odor of burning dust from the air vents. This type of odor is normal as collected dust inside the heat exchanger is heated up and circulated into your home. If the odor continues for after the first furnace use, however, contact your HVAC contractor.

Electrical or Mechanical Odor

A more serious type of furnace smell is the odor of burning electrical or mechanical components. This type of odor is often related to overheating blower motor parts and wiring. Call in your HVAC tech for a heating system evaluation. It may be that your blower motor just needs service, or it could be a sign of a failing motor, which you don’t want to happen in the middle of winter.

Musty Mold and Mildew Odors

HVAC components are common targets of mold and mildew development. The evaporator coil and condensate drain are particularly susceptible since they deal with water. Mold and mildew should be eradicated by your HVAC technician.

Rotting Eggs

The smell of rotten eggs is unmistakable. It’s also the scent that a chemical called mercaptan gives off when heated up. Mercaptan is added to natural gas, which has no odor on its own. Utility companies do this so that a gas leak can be detected by sense of smell. So, if your furnace ever smells like rotten eggs, you have a gas leak. Get everyone out of the house and call emergency services right away.

If a furnace smell is disrupting daily life in your Peachtree City home, contact Powers Heating & Air today for assistance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 770-487-2040.

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