06 Aug Why Does My AC Smell?
The only thing worse than sitting in a hot room on a summer day? Sitting in a cool room that smells bad.
Unfortunately, foul-smelling air conditioners are all too common in the summer months. And while they’re unpleasant, to say the least, the good news is that they’re often easy to diagnose and inexpensive to fix.
If a smelly air conditioner is plaguing your home this summer, it might be because of one of the following:
Your air conditioner is clogged.
The smell of feet isn’t coming from your teenager’s room — it’s coming from your AC! If left sitting in your air conditioner, water can quickly begin to smell.
You have a fluid leak.
Many people are surprised when they smell exhaust coming from their air conditioner, especially because it’s not gas-powered. But what many people forget is that fluid lives in your conditioner’s engine, as well as some other areas. If that gas begins to leak, it will smell like exhaust fumes.
Your fan motor gave out.
Does it smell like something’s burning? If so, a component of your air conditioner (likely the fan motor or circuit board) has shorted.
Animals have made a home in your unit.
Throughout the winter, insects, rodents, and birds tend to take shelter in air conditioners. If they pass away while in the unit, you’re in for a smelly surprise when you go to turn it on. Because animals can carry diseases, it’s so important to have your ducts professionally cleaned before summer begins.
Mold or fungus is growing.
While an air conditioner’s main job is to cool a room, it also removes excess moisture in the air. That moisture then travels through air ducts and it released outside of your home. But if it doesn’t make it outside, that water can begin pooling in your system. And as most homeowners know, where there’s water there’s often mold.