Causes of Air Conditioner Odors

When you turn on your air conditioner, you obviously want to cool down a room. You don't want to make said room smell bad. However, if you're experiencing bad smells in your house that get worse when the AC is on, you might have an issue with your unit. What's more, such smells can indicate something that could be a health hazard. Below are some common causes of a stinky AC unit.

Air conditioner units usually sit unused over the winter. Unfortunately, moisture may still accumulate inside the unit. What happens when moisture enters a cold, dark space? You get mold. The mold might be growing on the filter or on the vents. So, when you turn on your AC when the weather gets hot, you smell a moldy odor.

A moldy smell isn't just unpleasant. Mold spores in the air can trigger allergies, resulting in headaches, sore throats, and itchy eyes. Inhaling mold spores can also lead to upper respiratory issues. The unit will need to be professionally cleaned. Also, before you close up the unit for the season, run it on dry mode to remove any residual moisture.

People shed skin cells all the time - it's a natural biological function. You may not have thought about where those skin cells go, though, once they've sloughed off your body. Well, one place they may go is into your AC unit. Once inside, bacteria start to digest your skin cells. This digestion leads to the production of ammonium, which gives off a urine-like smell.

Yes, that is disgusting, and you should get your AC unit cleaned right away. Once you have the HVAC experts out, talk to them about adjusting the suction power of your unit and even replacing the filter with a bigger one. Higher suction power leads to more skin cells entering the unit. A larger filter might help trap more of the skin particles.

Cigarette smoke is an unpleasant odor for most non-smokers. Unfortunately, cigarette smoke can permeate porous surfaces, including walls and fabrics. Smoke particles can also stick to less permeable surfaces, such as the inside of your air duct. So, when you run your air conditioner even a long time after the smoker left the room, it can diffuse the odor.

When you have a smoker in the household, or you allow smoking, you'll want to be more diligent in preventing this odor-causing problem. Get a full professional duct cleaning and maintain it. Once a month, use a duster to wipe away the smoke particles inside the duct. At the time of service, also have the air filter replaced. You could also spray air sanitizer in the duct pipes.

The old adage is true: if you smell smoke, you have a fire. In this case, if you smell something burning, it probably is. The odor might smell like burning plastic, which could mean burnt-out wiring. Conversely, the odor might be more of a general burning smell. In that case, any part of your system, from the motor to the circuit board, could be shorting out.

Burnt-out wires or shorting out motors are dangerous. If you smell a burning odor when you turn on your HVAC unit, turn it off immediately and call for repairs. The sparks from the shorting out can cause a fire in your walls.

Just like with fire, if you smell a dead animal, you probably have a dead animal. A rodent or other small animal probably crawled into the air ducts and died. Now, grossly enough, the little carcass is rotting and causing that foul smell.

You'll want to locate the carcass right away and dispose of it. Follow your nose and examine the relevant air ducts. Once you've identified the varmint, dispose of its carcass and give the area a thorough cleaning.

Don't put up with nasty-smelling air when you just want to cool down your house. Call us at C J Services Inc for cleaning and maintenance.