We rely on our furnace for a steady supply of heat to keep our homes warm when the temperature turns colder outside. We expect our furnaces to work instantaneously, and when things don’t seem to go as expected, it can be a jarring experience. But, a furnace is a complex piece of equipment, and it needs to be regularly maintained to ensure performance and energy efficiency. In this article, we will take a closer look at the types of smells that you may notice when you turn on your furnace and what they may mean.
The Period of Inactivity
Generally speaking, most of us don’t really use the furnace too much for around 8-9 months in a typical year. For a great deal of time, the furnace is inactive, and it tends to be forgotten as attention switches to the air conditioning and summer vacations. But, the furnace is still there, it gathers dust and debris and cobwebs waiting patiently until the weather turns colder again. So, when you need some heating on a colder night, and you turn on the furnace, all of that dust and debris is heated up on the surface. This is why you may notice a stale or burning odor that seems to permeate throughout your home.
3 Ways to Prevent the Burning Odor
This type of odor is not the most pleasant, and the heating system will distribute it evenly throughout your home via the ductwork. The heat exchanger will burn the dust and debris away eventually, and the smell will dissipate. But, this could take some time depending on how the dirty the furnace is and how long you run the heating. If you want to prepare for this situation in advance, here are three things that you can do to prevent the burning odor.
1.Clean the Furnace
Before you start to use the heating system after a prolonged period of inactivity, it’s a great idea to give the equipment a clean. It’s doesn’t take long for a furnace to acquire a layer of dust or debris on various surfaces when it is not in use regularly. If your furnace has been off for a while, it’s likely that components, such as the: coils, heat exchanger, outer cover, and the interior surfaces are covered in a light layer of dust. Simply remove this dust using a vacuum cleaner or a clean cloth and make sure each surface is clean before turning the furnace on. This is a great way to get rid of the source of that burning dust smell, and it will help your equipment to work efficiently. Just be careful, avoid dislodging any parts, and take your time during the cleaning process.
- Change the Filter
The usual location for the filter is on the front of the unit, where the heat is distributed into the ductwork. This is another area that can get very dirty when the furnace is not in regular use, and a dirty filter will affect the performance and energy efficiency. Remove the filter and examine it carefully to see if it’s dirty and needs to be replaced. A dirty filter will pass on the surface debris into your ductwork, where it will be distributed throughout the rest of your home. Replacing the filter with a fresh new model will help to keep the indoor air feeling fresh and free from bad odors. Make sure you use the filter model type for your furnace, and the full specification and model numbers can be found in your owner’s manual. If you’ve misplaced your owner’s manual, check the manufacturer’s website for a pdf version. It’s also worth checking online for your filters; purchasing them in bulk can save a great deal of money over the year.
- Check the Ductwork
The last port of call, if you’ve cleaned the furnace and replaced the filter, is the ductwork itself. The ducts are the conduit that supplies the treated air to the entire home, and like any other surface in your home, they can get dusty and dirty. We don’t tend to think about the interior surfaces of our ductwork much because it’s mostly out of sight. We may give our vents and registers a clean from time to time, and the most diligent may even remove them and clean a little way into the ductwork itself. But, these surfaces are hard to reach, and cleaning them is beyond many of us. For this reason, it’s a great idea to schedule some ductwork cleaning prior to each heating season. This will remove the dust and dirt, but it will also remove any mold deposits or other contaminants that may harm your indoor air quality (IAQ). Many people cannot believe the difference in the air quality in their homes after the ductwork has been cleaned.
Other Dangerous Odors
A burning dust smell is unpleasant, but it’s not something that’s dangerous or a serious problem. Eventually, the odor will dissipate, but there are other heating related smells that you should take very seriously.
If you can detect a very strong burning odor that has an electrical quality, this may indicate that there is a component failure or electrical fire in your heating system. If this is the case, turn the heating off and contact your local certified HVAC specialist to fix the problem.
Another bad odor to detect in your home is the smell of sulfur or rotten eggs. In its natural state, most heating gas products have no discernible odor, and this would make a gas leak lethal because it would be undetectable. The gas companies fix this problem by adding the rotten egg smell to the gas, so it’s easy to notice. If you can smell a sulfur odor, get your family out of the home and contact your gas company to detect the gas leak and fix it quickly.
If you’re worried about any strange smells coming from your furnace or ductwork, contact your local certified HVAC specialist. They have the training, experience, and tools to clean, maintain, and repair your heating and cooling systems.