Asked by: Yahaya Burusk
home and garden indoor environmental quality

What is the smell coming from my furnace?

18
This musty smell occurs when dust, dirt, and other debris collect on your unit and in your air ducts. As your furnace warms, the dust and dirt may burn away and smell faintly of smoke. However, if the smell persists, you could have a clogged filter that allows dust and dirt to reach your motor.


Furthermore, how do I get rid of the smell in my furnace?

Shut off the gas if the unit is fueled by natural gas, and then vacuum the burners. Remove the door below the area where you're working, and vacuum the blower compartment. If you see anything that's stuck, take a scrub brush to the area to loosen dust and dirt, and then vacuum it off.

Also Know, is new furnace smell toxic? As the seasons change, our heating and cooling needs change, too. Each fall, as you turn off your air conditioner and turn on your furnace or heater for the first time, you may notice a strange smell coming from your heating vents. Some of these smells are harmless, while others may be dangerous.

Similarly, what does a furnace leak smell like?

Rotten egg or sulfur smell You may have a natural gas leak in your home. Why does it smell like that? Natural gas is odorless, so a harmless chemical (mercaptan) is added to give natural gas an odor, so you can easily detect a gas leak. Most people would describe the odor as smelling like rotten eggs or sulfur.

Why does my gas furnace smell?

Furnace Smells Like Gas - What Do You Do? - Furnace Troubleshooting. When someone asks us why their furnace smells like gas, the answer is almost always due to a leak in your furnace's heat exchanger, which can be serious for all sorts of reasons including possible fire hazards, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning

Related Question Answers

Xiaoying Ruzicka

Professional

Why does my heat smell weird?

If you smell a dusty or burning smell the first few times you turn on your heat, it's most likely dust and dirt that's settled on components inside your heating system throughout the summer. As you fire up the heat, those dust particles burn away, producing a weird burnt/dusty smell.

Xiaoyue Bocca

Professional

Why does my heat smell bad?

The most common odor you might smell is burning dust. (Especially if you are turning on your heater for the first time this winter season.) Dust has collected in the heating ducts all summer long. Clogged or dirty air filters are another common cause for odors in your home.

Goiuri Gallero

Professional

Is it normal to smell a little gas near Furnace?

It's normal for gas furnaces to emit small amounts of gas when cycling on. If you occasionally detect a faint gas odor near the furnace during this cycle, you don't have anything to worry about. However, if you frequently smell gas throughout your home, your furnace could have a dangerous leak.

Keisy Kalman

Explainer

Why does my furnace smell like rotten eggs?

If you notice a rotten egg or sulfur smell after turning on your furnace, this is a very serious concern. Natural gas is odorless, so a harmless chemical (mercaptan) is added to give natural gas an odor, so you can easily detect a gas leak. Most people would describe the odor as smelling like rotten eggs or sulfur.

Zebenzuy Andujar

Explainer

Can you spray Lysol on furnace filter?

Lean the air filter back towards you and spray Lysol generously into the vent. Spray at least 10 pumps into each vent; do this for each air intake vent throughout your home's duct system.

Hongwei Jalovets

Explainer

How can I make my furnace air smell better?

Placing a dryer sheet on the incoming side of your filter helps absorb odor and if scented, can add a bit of a pleasant smell to the air. Placing an air freshener like what you might use in your car in the same manner as the dryer sheet. Placing dryer sheets or air fresheners inside your registers.

Rory Collbrunn

Pundit

Can you spray air freshener on a furnace filter?

Most furnace filter air fresheners are simply scented pads or bags of potpourri attached to the metal screen on the outside of the filter. When applying a filter air freshener, remember to only apply it to a fresh filter and to attach it to the outside of the outflow filter if your system uses two.

Zoya Aldaz

Pundit

How do I know if my furnace is leaking carbon monoxide?

Signs of a carbon monoxide leak in your house or home
Sooty or brownish-yellow stains around the leaking appliance. Stale, stuffy, or smelly air, like the smell of something burning or overheating. Soot, smoke, fumes, or back-draft in the house from a chimney, fireplace, or other fuel burning equipment.

Remona Ehe

Pundit

Why does my furnace smell weird?

This musty smell occurs when dust, dirt, and other debris collect on your unit and in your air ducts. As your furnace warms, the dust and dirt may burn away and smell faintly of smoke. However, if the smell persists, you could have a clogged filter that allows dust and dirt to reach your motor.

Yosue

Pundit

How do you know if your furnace is leaking gas?

One of the most notable signs of a furnace leaking gas is if you smell it coming from your air vents or registers. If you notice the smell, you'll want to shut off the furnace and open all the windows in the home. Many people fail to realize a gas leak can occur even if the furnace is off.

Abdelrhani Armbrecht

Pundit

Is it normal for a furnace to smell?

When the furnace is turned on, the dust burns off and releases an odor. It is normal for dust to burn off when the heater is turned on for the first time in the winter season and not a cause for concern. This smell should disappear in a few hours. If the problem persists, check your air filters.

Lijing Thoens

Teacher

Is a leaking furnace dangerous?

A furnace that's leaking water can be an emergency, if you're worried or feel unsafe, you should shut it down while you're waiting for a technician to fix the problem. A leaking furnace isn't something you should ignore. Your home owners' insurance isn't likely to cover water damage due to lack of maintenance.

Wilbert Brazinha

Teacher

Are furnace fumes harmful?

The fumes can be dangerous and may signal a crack or misalignment in your oil burner. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel is burned and you cannot smell the fumes. Besides furnaces, any gas-fueled appliance produces it—clothes dryers, ovens, grills, fireplaces, etc.

Haydee Cao

Teacher

What does gas leak smell like?

Natural gas is an efficient, safe, colorless and odorless gas. For easy detection, we add a harmless chemical called mercaptan to give gas a distinctive odor. Most people describe the smell as rotten eggs or hydrogen sulfide like odor. It smells bad for a good reason - in case of a gas leak!

Charisse Pennders

Teacher

Why does my heat smell like poop?

HVAC Smells Like Sewage, Farts, Vomit, Fish, or Skunk
These smells could indicate a gas leak in your HVAC system, which is a serious HVAC emergency. Methyl mercaptan is a chemical molecule that has a sulfur component, and it is responsible for the disagreeable smell of farts, feces, and bad breath.

Narek Lomeiro

Reviewer

What does a Freon leak smell like?

Freon usually travels through closed copper coils in an AC unit, but these coils can crack and result in an AC coolant leak. A freon leak will produce a smell between sweet and chloroform. If you suspect a freon leak, talk to a specialist who can use a freon leak detector to help address the issue.

Vikki Eckkard

Reviewer

Should I smell gas from my furnace?

It's normal for gas furnaces to emit small amounts of gas when cycling on. If you occasionally detect a faint gas odor near the furnace during this cycle, you don't have anything to worry about. However, if you frequently smell gas throughout your home, your furnace could have a dangerous leak.

Justyna Hariri

Reviewer

Why does my furnace smell like smoke?

This musty smell occurs when dust, dirt, and other debris collect on your unit and in your air ducts. As your furnace warms, the dust and dirt may burn away and smell faintly of smoke. However, if the smell persists, you could have a clogged filter that allows dust and dirt to reach your motor.

Sliman Steegmaier

Reviewer

Why does my heater smell like a dead animal?

If there is a smell of dead animal from your furnace, then there's probably on in there. A rat or some other type of rodent may have crawled its way into the vent and eventually died there. So, clean your air duct regularly so that you can avoid having to inhale any of these smells.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

5

12th June, 2020

36

81% of readers found this page helpful.

4.1/5

Click a star to add your vote

Similar Asks
Trending