Is There a Peculiar Smell Coming From Your Furnace?

When you turn on the heat and smell a peculiar odor coming from your furnace, it might be time to perform some maintenance work on your unit. The problem might be something small or it might be something dangerous, so it must never be ignored. To make sure your family is safe and to save more money in the future, you should investigate the situation immediately.

Check if you can locate the origin of the smell and call a technician with the correct expertise. There are several factors that might cause a smell, which include:

 Broken Electrical Components or Wire

• The smell of plastic burning due to melting electrical wires can be an indication of something that needs immediate attention. There might be a dropped object in the register, like a child’s toy.
• It can also be the furnace motor overheating.

Oil or Smoke

• If you smell oil and you have an oil furnace, the oil filter might be clogged. Simply locate the filter and change it.
• Smoke is likely to be caused by a blocked chimney. If you believe this to be the case, contact an HVAC specialist to sort out the problem.

Changing a Filter

• A dusty smell might be an indication that it’s time for a filter change.

Trapped Dust

• Each time you use your furnace for the first time, it will smell musty due to trapped dust.
• The musty odor might also be caused by mold trapped in the filter. This is a good time to give the old furnace a service.

If you’re looking for the best company in Northwest Arkansas to meet all of your HVAC needs, call Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal today. We’ve been servicing the great communities of Arkansas since 1968.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Springdale, Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about furnace odors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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