Weird Smell From Furnace, Could Duct Cleaning Help?
Okay, I moved into this house last winter and ever since we have had a horrible smell coming from our registers/air returns. Even when the AC or heat is off, you can still kind of smell it lingering.
It is kind of musty and just feels like we’re breathing in dirt. It is NOT a dead animal. Our house is also really really dusty. We do have 3 cats so I know that adds to it but I also bought an air purifier for my room and it doesn’t help at all! We change the filter monthly and just bought a more expensive kind that is washable but nothing helps.
We had someone come out and check it and he said the coil was fine but there was a huge pipe coming from the attic into the furnace which he sealed off. We thought maybe that was causing the smell and dust but that still didn’t help. The only other thing he could think of was getting the air ducts cleaned.
Do you think this will help? I tried to bleach them out myself but the dirt was caked on and I couldn’t get any of it out.
November 9, 2009 @ 4:08 pm
Duct cleaning would certainly help.
As would checking that the pipe that was sealed has REMAINED sealed… you know, heat or vibration or whatever may have dislodged whatever the serviceman used to seal it off.
I have three cats, too and while that might contribute a “bit” to the dust/dander issue, it’s not gonna be by much, and certainly not to the point where I’d say my house is “really dusty.” I use a feather duster on all my flat surfaces weekly and follow-up by vacuuming and have no noticeable dust.
You might want to try changing your air filters twice a month (buy a 10-pack of the cheapo paper filters for this experiment) for a couple of months to see if the air in your home being sucked through TO the furnace is the issue or the air coming FROM your furnace is the problem.
If the filters aren’t disgustingly dirty every two weeks, it’s likely the culprit is the air discharging from your furnace and, obviously, through the air ducts. If the furnace filter is changed regularly, then you’ve pin-pointed the isue… your ducts.
Hope this helps,
TX Griff
November 9, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
Have you done a head count of your cats recently?
August 11, 2010 @ 6:18 am
we always use air purifiers at home since we live in such a polluted society nowadays.