When a furnace is not working correctly, there is a potential for it to create some unpleasant smells in your home. If you have an unpleasant odor in your home, here is what you need to do about it in case the problem is with your furnace.
Follow The Smell
Most times you'll be able to smell the bad odor, but not be very sure about where it is coming from. If you do not suspect a furnace problem, you may not even think that it's the source of the odor. It's best to just follow the smell around your home until it starts getting stronger, and eventually pinpoint it on your furnace. It will then help to identify which part of the furnace the odor is coming from, since once area may be easily identified as the clear source.
Identify The Type Of Smell
Try to identify what the smell is like. The smell of rotten eggs is often associated with natural gas, because the odor is put into the gas in order to easily identify a gas leak. Otherwise, natural gas doesn't have a smell to it and you'd never be able to tell that you happen to have a gas leak.
If it's a burning smell, it could be an electrical problem with your furnace. Electrical problems can be caused by something as simple as a pest that has chewed right through a wire's protective casing and caused part of the wire to be exposed.
The smell of burning oil will be associated with an oil furnace that is leaking fuel. Identifying the location of where the smell is the strongest can help guide you to where the oil is leaking from.
Fix The Issue
Your best bet for repairing the problem correctly is to reach out to a local furnace repair service that can handle it all for you. Shut down the furnace and wait for them to show up to prevent any damage from happening.
A gas leak will need to be fixed by replacing components that are causing the gas to leak before it can be burned for fuel. Electrical problems could require new wiring, which you are likely not familiar with enough to do by yourself. Oil leaks will require that damaged parts are replaced to prevent more oil from leaking.
No matter what your problem is, furnace odors can be fixed to get your HVAC system back to normal.
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