You know your home better than anyone else. You know the squeak on the third step into the basement, the kitchen cupboard that only closes completely if you slam it, and the safe hidden behind a picture frame where you keep the crown jewels. 

You know when things are right, and you also know when things are wrong. If you’ve been feeling lately that something smells wrong in your home, your instincts are probably right. There are a number of different HVAC smells that can be a sign of underlying problems. The sooner you’re able to recognize what these smells mean, the sooner you’ll be able to get them taken care of.

Rotten eggs. 

First things first: have you left any cartons of eggs in your ductwork for any conceivable reason? No? Okay, good, we can rule that out. Seriously, though, a rotten egg smell permeating your home can be incredibly unpleasant. If you’re noticing a rotten egg smell coming from your air conditioner, it could be because of a natural gas leak. Natural gas leaks are incredibly serious as long term exposure at high levels can mess with your blood oxygen levels and lead to lost consciousness and beyond. 

How to address this smell: Open the windows in your home and then safely evacuate your entire family. The risks are too high to take your time with this. First, call the gas company to see about having the gas turned off so that you don’t have to worry about health or fire dangers. Next, call your preferred HVAC service provider to have them send an emergency technician out to address the leak and prevent future ones.

Exhaust. 

If this is happening, the most likely situation is that the gas from your furnace’s exhaust pipe is making its way back into your home. Good news: this is one of the easiest issues to fix, because the problem isn’t with the furnace itself, it’s with where the exhaust is being expelled. 

How to address this smell: Take note of the times you smell exhaust. Is it when the wind is blowing in a certain direction? Since exhaust gets expelled from your home via your furnace’s exhaust pipe, the reason you smell that smell is usually because the wind is blowing it in your direction. When this happens, make sure your windows and doors are locked and sealed and the problem will pass when the wind dies down. Long story short: you don’t have anything to worry about!

Mold or mildew. 

Mold and mildew can develop within your HVAC system if there’s an excessive amount of humidity or moisture present. These problems are frequently caused by a leak somewhere in the piping or a home without any humidity control. 

How to address this smell: The first thing to do is to have a HVAC technician come to your home to examine your pipes and ductwork for leaks. This sort of maintenance is good to have scheduled bi-yearly anyhow to notice problems before they become significant.

Burning. 

Burning odors in your home are most commonly the result of an issue with electrical systems. If the problem is with your HVAC, the most likely culprit will be your air conditioning systems. The fan or compressor in your AC could be having problems or there could be issues with the wiring or components. One thing that is important to note is that if you haven’t used AC in a while, the smell could be from dust burning off as the system boots up again. If that’s the case, the smell will go away within 30 to 60 minutes. If the smell doesn’t go away, the problem is likely more insidious.

How to address this smell: No matter how this problem is addressed, it needs to be addressed right away. The risks that come with burning or electrical smells are more significant than with any other potential problem because of the associated risk with housefires. If you smell something odd and electrical and believe it’s attached to your home’s AC, the answer is to immediately call an HVAC technician to come out. There are plenty of local HVAC providers that offer anytime emergency service so that you don’t have to wait and worry about your family being at risk.

Don’t worry: once you know what mystery scent is plaguing you, you’ll be able to get it fixed and stop plugging your nose in no time. If you’d like expert help in finding and addressing any HVAC problem you might have, smelly ones included, all you need to do is schedule an appointment with the team at Welter Heating.