If the furnace in your Palm Desert, CA home begins emitting weird smells, it’s fairly clear that something has gone wrong. What’s less clear, however, is precisely what that is. To shed some light on things, here’s some information about a few unusual furnace odors and what causes them.
Damp or Musty
A damp, musty or muggy smell usually indicates that water has somehow found its way into your furnace. It likely has a leak somewhere. Many things might create this problem, such as a faulty condensate pump, a clogged drain line or a loose connection in your furnace’s drain pan.
Luckily, turning up the heat will eliminate musty odors in most cases. It will evaporate the water that’s stuck in your unit. If that doesn’t work, call a repair technician to examine your system and fix the issue.
Rotten Eggs or Sulfur
This is a particularly horrendous smell that can pose a great danger. Its source is almost always a gas leak.
Leaking gas may ignite at any moment and create a fire, which makes it important to request professional help immediately. It also underscores the importance of regularly scheduled HVAC maintenance, so technicians can detect things that might cause a gas leak in the future and prevent one from developing.
Formaldehyde or Other Chemicals
This odor is the telltale sign of a cracked heat exchanger. If your furnace’s heat exchanger cracks, this will severely hamper the system’s overall ability to function and increase the probability of carbon monoxide leaks, natural gas leaks or other potentially harmful results.
Funny smells are one of your furnace’s primary ways of alerting you that something is wrong. You can rely on our team of experts to make sure your furnace is running at peak efficiency. Call Vic’s Air Conditioning Service to schedule furnace repairs in Palm Desert, CA as soon as you smell something abnormal.
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