Are you experiencing a strange furnace smell in your home? Perhaps it's a big mystery for now, but once you're done checking out our list of possibilities, you just might be able to put your finger on it. Take a look at these different odors and what they mean:
The good news is that if you're experiencing the smell of burning dust, you have nothing to worry about. This issue comes from the fact that your furnace hasn't been used for a while. Chances are, you smelled this at the beginning of the winter season, but it went away very quickly. If not, then a call to your local HVAC specialist is in order.
A musty furnace smell means that you have a mold problem in either the system itself or within your ductwork. In addition to the bad odor, the mold can cause health problems for those with asthma or other respiratory issues. You can fix this by hiring a professional to clean your system, and then follow that up with annual preventive maintenance.
This type of smell is where things get a little more problematic, as it can indicate repair needs to your furnace's wiring or mechanical parts. Very often, an electrical odor is a precursor to a full-on breakdown, so you definitely want to have the system checked out as soon as possible, lest you're looking at extensive damage or even a fire.
What you want to watch out for (or smell out for, as the case may be) is the smell of rotten eggs. This odor indicates a natural gas leak, which would necessitate an evacuation of your home and a call to the local fire department. Don't touch anything that might produce a spark, including light switches, and get out immediately just to be sure. If you need more assistance in figuring out what's causing your furnace smell or have any other HVAC-related questions, please reach out to the professionals at Russell's Heating & Cooling. We've been serving the Hampton Roads area of Southeastern Virginia since 1992. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about furnace odors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 757-750-1831. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “piotr-marcinski/Shutterstock”