No smell from your furnace is a good smell. That said, there are five smells that you should be especially on the lookout for. They can indicate a safety issue or a serious problem with your furnace. Here are the five smells and their likely causes.
1. Rotten Eggs or Rotten Cabbage
This disgusting smell is added to gas as a safety feature. Gas is otherwise odourless, and you wouldn’t know when you have a gas leak. So, if you smell a rotten egg smell, or something equally gross, then you know that you have a gas leak. This could be very dangerous, so it’s best to call the professionals right away and evacuate your home.
2. Burning Smell
When you first turn on your furnace in the fall it might give off a bit of a burning smell if it hasn’t had proper maintenance. This is the dust burning away. However, if you let this problem go for a while, the burning smell will get worse, as it burns an overfull filter or the dust that has gathered on internal parts. This can become a fire risk, so it’s best to get your furnace maintained every year and change your filters regularly.
3. Musty Smell from Furnace
Most furnaces are equipped with whole-home humidifiers that make your home much more comfortable in the winter. They add water back into the air, preventing dryness in your skin, flooring, and much more. However, they can develop mold and mildew issues if they are not maintained properly. If you smell something musty from your furnace, that is most likely the problem. Although, there could be other mold issues nearby.
4. Hot Metal Smell
This smell is kind of like a cross between the burning smell and an iron smell. It indicates hot metal, which suggests that your furnace has an electrical issue, or could potentially overheat. This is not an issue that you want to tackle by yourself because it can be dangerous. Call the experts at Whitfield ClimateCare.
5. Plastic Smell
A smell like melting or burning plastic is usually just that, a piece of plastic next to your furnace that is burning from the heat. This often happens when a child or pet leaves their toy near the furnace. If you can spot it, you can remove it, just be careful about burning your hand on the plastic or the furnace itself.
If you are noticing odd smells coming from your furnace, do not wait to get this checked. Contact our experts at Whitfield ClimateCare today.
Is It Time to Call the Professionals?
If you smell any of these smells coming from your furnace, or one that we haven’t covered on this list, your first call should be to the professionals at Whitfield ClimateCare. They can help you figure out what the smell is and correct the underlying problem while also providing a solution.
