There may be a peculiar burning smell when you fire up your furnace for the season, but don’t worry, it’s collected summer dust heating up. Or, your nose may be greeted with smells like pungent mustiness or even rotting eggs that waft crucial warnings with them and should not be ignored.
Common furnace smells and their meanings:
Commonly reported smells from furnaces have been shown to represent specific malfunctions in the furnace and can provide enough details to spot the source of the problem.
See Plumbhouse Plumbing Heating and Electrical’s air quality systems. Please contact us at the number below. We are here to help you with any of your cooling, or heating concerns.
Musty smell
Suppose you suddenly notice a musty, damp, pungent, or stale smell coming from your furnace. In that case, it may be time to get your home/ventilation system inspected for mould. This type of smell may not come from your furnace itself, but the heat transfer will bring the odour throughout the house. On the other hand, mould can still grow inside your furnace and distribute possibly noxious spores that can be harmful to your health.
What to do: Do not ignore this sign and get a mould inspector to check this out. Some mould species are an acute hazard to your health, potentially causing respiratory problems for anyone exposed to it. A specialist will find, remove, destroy, and then remediate the problem for you.
Smokey smell
A burning smell from your furnace can be expected, especially at the beginning of winter, when some of the accumulated dust gathered around the filter is burnt off. However, a strong smokey smell can indicate a fire hazard. If a furnace filter is blocked completely, it will cause heat to build up and eventually force the system to turn itself off to prevent an explosion/ overheating. This process repeating itself is called ‘short cycling.’ Not only can it threaten the safety of your home, but it can also potentially rack up the energy bill.
Sometimes furnaces with oil filters will produce an oily/ smokey smell, which either means the filter must be replaced or a leak.
What to do: A overheating furnace or potential oil leak is dangerous and should be reported to a technician immediately.
Visit our heating page to get a headstart looking for a new furnace, repairs or to help you determine the smell coming from your furnace.
Rotten egg or a sulphur smell
This is perhaps the most severe smell on this list. If you notice the smell of rotting eggs, sulphur, or just a foulness in general, it could be a gas leak. The natural gas supplied into homes and utilized by furnaces is odourless; however, companies install the chemical mercaptan to give it a distinct presence. In other words, the sulphuric smell is a safety mechanism.
An unresolved gas leak can result in serious consequences. Suppose the natural gas is only partially combusted by the furnace. In that case, CO (carbon monoxide, which is odourless) can be filtered through the ventilation system. Carbon monoxide gas can cause immediate symptoms, including dizziness, headache, vomiting, confusion, loss of consciousness, and death within minutes of exposure.
Other problems can occur if a large amount of gas collects around the home. Any spark or ignition can cause an explosion leading to loss of property and death.
What to do: Turn the heating system off and shut off any gas valves if possible. Otherwise, it is best to call emergency services and evacuate the home.
Burning plastic smell
Burning plastic or ‘gunpowder’ smells indicate short-circuiting within the furnace. The distinct smell is caused by the plastic wires melting, which can eventually cause an electrical fire.
What to do: Have a technician inspect the furnace for electrical problems or anything else that may be structurally wrong with the system.
All about furnace filters:
Furnace filters are an integral part of the home heating system by serving as a filter of pollutants. This cotton/polyester blend of pleated fabric will often catch dust that circulates through your home and keeps things running normally. However, they are also the first indicator that something is wrong.
As seen above, when something is wrong with the furnace, it usually has to do with the filter’s ability to block objects. Burning/ strange smells are often the result of blocked/ burning dust excessively covering the filter. As a general rule of thumb, it is best practice to change a disposable furnace filter every 1-2 months. Read more about furnace filters here, including HEPA filters on your HVAC unit that help capture particulates.
Plumbhouse Plumbing Heating and Electrical serves homeowners of London ON and the surrounding areas and offers several HVAC systems to suit your air filtration needs.
Please call us with any questions: (519) 453 4650. We are here to help you.
Categorised in: Uncategorized