As we move toward the season when you’ll start to need your furnace again, there are different things you need to be aware of and pay attention to. One of those things is a job for your nose. Is your furnace causing any odors? If there’s a smell in your home when you use your heating system, is there a serious problem? Maybe, but maybe not. Here’s how to figure it out.
Dust
Have you had furnace maintenance done this year? We know that in our climate, your furnace doesn’t get as much use as the furnaces in, say, Minnesota. But it’s still essential to have furnace maintenance done! Being left unused for many months causes issues to develop, and the only way to be sure everything is okay when you start up your furnace is to get a heating tune-up from a qualified HVAC technician.
One of the things that happens during many months of disuse is that a lot of dust will accumulate, inside your furnace and out. When you first turn it on in the fall, if you haven’t had maintenance (which involves a lot of cleaning!) you will be heating up all that dust. And you will smell it! Open windows, and the smell should be gone within the hour. Now schedule that maintenance!
Overheating
Sometimes, the scorching smell won’t just be dust. If you’ve tried airing things out and the smell doesn’t go away, if you’ve used your heating system already this fall and the odor is occurring each time, or if it smells like melting plastic or hot metal, something is actually wrong, not just dusty.
Overheating can occur for a variety of reasons, including blankets of dust on the components, blocked airflow, lack of lubricant, a malfunctioning part, or an electrical issue. It’s very easy for this to turn into a bigger problem if it continues. You’d rather repair your blower fan motor than replace it, for example, and you definitely don’t want to risk a fire, so get furnace repair in Orlando, FL right away!
Electrical Fire
Here’s a very odd fact for you: electrical fires can smell like dead fish. Why in the world would that be? Well, both electrical fires and decomposing fish release ammonia into the air. So if you smell fish when your heat is on, and you haven’t been cooking any, you have a serious electrical problem! Turn the heat off completely and call for emergency furnace service.
Gas Leak
While any furnace has some electrical components, an electric furnace doesn’t use any gas, so this only applies to gas furnaces. Natural gas has no odor. But if it’s leaking, you will smell it. This is thanks to a chemical called mercaptan which is added to natural gas to make it more detectable. If you smell sulfur, like too many hard-boiled eggs, you’ve got a gas leak.
This is extremely dangerous. Can you turn off the gas to the furnace quickly and easily? If so, do it. If you’re not sure, don’t waste time trying to figure it out. Get everyone out of the house. Once you’re safely away, call your natural gas provider’s emergency number. If necessary, call 911. Do not go back into the house until you get the all-clear from qualified personnel.
If you have any concerns about your heating system, don’t hesitate! Get help right away.
Contact Gary Munson Heating & Air Conditioning for heating maintenance and repair in Orlando, FL. You’ll be more comfortable with the best!