Horrible! HVAC Bad odors. Dirty sock syndrome. 3 Steps to Fix it.
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
- HVAC Bad odors! What causes them? We call it dirty sock syndrome, but the smell is horrible. We've compiled 3 steps to help solve dirty sock syndrome and other bad odors in your heat pump or air conditioning system.
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How about manufacturers needing to coat coils (with anti-bacterial coating) from factory instead.... old units never had these issues, and no UV lights.
By turning on the extended fan, You too can move the humidity from your house up to the coil and back into your house! Don’t be cruel to Your humidity. After all, you did conceive it.
So remember to re-use and recycle Your humidity by turning on your extended fan time!👍
Mlito69 lol. I see what you did there. Leaving fan running would certainly reinsert that moisture back in the home if the evaporator coil isn’t cool any longer.
Is the coil aluminum? That’ll help as well.
I’ve never heard that before. The entire industry is moving to aluminum coils. DSS can be caused by a number of issues typically involving moisture issues of some kind. Aluminum doesn’t rust and corrode as bad as other options.
@@NewHVACGuide - yep, here in GA I pretty much have to keep fan off unless ac is running or humidity jumps up significantly. Guess its the moisture on coil and warm air in the ducts blowing after ac shuts off.
i bought two complete 5 ton units for my home the ac ran great, we then used the heater for the fall once we kicked the acs back on for the spring and now they have have a terrible smell. we kick on the heater and no smell!!!! what is going on..... heater no smell...ac smells
I've got this same issue. Any suggestions?
The smell is really more like... soured laundry.
Eww! Good description!
so mine its having a dust feeling or smell. like if its bunch of dust all over the docks but not really. It kinds feelis like insolation particles
I cleaned the filter and wiped the tiny vents behind the filter with a tissue in which it had some black smudge and then sprayed some gain in the vents and on the tiny vents and the filter let it sit for an hour or two...no smell!!!
My unit is only two years old and I never had this dirty sock syndrome on my old system. Is it that these new coils are made of aluminum instead of copper?
Aluminum doesn’t cause it but it is more porous than copper which allows the bacteria into more places than copper. That said, get some UV lights in that thing! 🙂
Got a new ac system a couple years old . Never had smells before . And this ine wven has a uv light 24/7 . Only smells woth ac not with heat
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This is one of my old videos. And yes, it does promote our company :-)
I don't have odors as I periodically run ozone through the house via the return air vent to prevent spiders in the basement. It's as if they put up little signs around whatever openings they were using on their way out that say, "WARNING! Do Not Enter!" in bug language.
Haha! That sign must be working?!
Heat pumps are stinky. I regret I bought one :(
OkkoDiPatio you should have it looked at by a professional
I did but it smelled again after a few months. This happened 3 times and now I am tired of it :P What else can I do? I have no money to buy another one
OkkoDiPatio what did the professional do the first time that worked for a few months? Also, do you have a UV light installed?
I live in a apartment building My Moms Air Cont has this mildew/mold odor in it and last year it smelled the same so last fall I had her vents cleaned out and that was not the issue. Moms been having headaches daily and the Maintenance Man said he does not smell it .Well we sure do . even another resident smells it in her apartment I live on the second floor and I do not have any odor in my Vent
Same here. You’re the first person I’ve read about that mentioned headaches. It’s giving me headaches too.
@ hv guy,got a chemical l smell in nite time only in house.not sure where it's coming from.verys in time every nite.turn hear down to 55-63 at nite because when it runs I wake up and can't sleep.
Iam getting sick every nite for over a month. I run bath room fan for 1 one hour 2to 5 times a nite .getting no sleep for over a month ???2/11/23
step #1 get a safety door in your van ( behind you) so when you get in a crash all that loose equipment does not go flying at your head at 80 mph and kill you. I think It's the law....
Brand new Goodman installed upstairs and brand new Rheem downstairs installed by two separate companies, ducts cleaned after installed, both have uv lights shining on top fo coils, both have i-waver's installed and after three years they both still stink every fall and spring...any suggestions? Neither company can or will do anything about other than repeated offers for me to purchase duct cleaning or different more expensive UV systems. Manufacturers won't deal with customers and refer to AC techs. Had two other companies come look and both shrugged and said buy new systems like everyone just has $7k sitting around to buy new heat/ac systems.
Blue Box Air- Coil Cleaning
Thanks man
Thank you!
What causes oil smell coming out of house vents when ac on cold?
Mine smells like a burnt up vacuum cleaner or something. Do you know why?
I've been running my blower 24/7 and still get a smell when the heat pump kicks in. Brand new HVAC as of April, vents cleaned a couple months ago. So, not sure about your blower claim.
That is going to be dust or something burning off if it only happens during heating like that. Make sure you are using a good quality filter on the unit that isn't too restrictive. Experiment with this. Another thing to try is using a very porous filter at the returns as well. This will help to eliminate some dust from going back into your system. Most of the dirty sock syndrome smell is prevalent during cooling, and much less for heating because heat discourages mold and bacteria growth.
@@danroot84 thanks for reply! I'm coming to the same conclusion too; it's probably dust.
How about a smoky type smell in a NEWLY installed system?
Maybe your heat strips?
Drain pan tabs
Does the heat create condensation?
On a heat pump, not typically
I never had this problem in my 20 yr old unit, until it was replaced last year. Smells like a big ol turd. 💩💩💩💩
Hello. I have a question. I just had my roof done on my house and as soon as I turn on my AC I can smell like oil burning or something like that. Idk what's causing it. Can you please help me on what can it be?
If your HVAC unit is in the attic, it’s possible they may have hit a lineset or something when installing the roof. We had one last year where the roofing nail hit the lineset perfectly. If it had been 1 inch over, it would’ve missed the lineset entirely!
@@NewHVACGuide what do you mean by a line set.?? Sorry I am not familiar with it. How can I fix it? Do I have to call an expert to fix it? Or is it a quick fix?
@@NewHVACGuide thank you for replying to my message 👍🙏
The linesets are the copper lines that run from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit. You will definitely need to call a professional to repair this. I would call a professional regardless if I were you
Do you only smell the odor when the unit is running? What if the unit is off but you turn the fan to the on position?
Would you ever recommend, for wall insert ac's, putting spray bleach over the coils? This would also run down into the drain pan and sterilize it.
I'd be worried about the bleach making it into the air you breathe and what it might do to the coils.
Thank you for the question!
Results: Lysol kind of worked, bleach didn't work well at all, but SCRUBBING BUBBLES saved the day. The foaming helped separate the mold from the coils. Had to run the fan motor with the windows open while we weren't home, but it saved it from having to be taken apart.
Be careful and make sure what you use is intended for that use. Some chemicals are harmful to breathe. I had a customer using a cleaner once in their air handler that clearly stated on the can to cause cancer if you breathe it in. A professional would know what to use next time.
Hi! Our HVAC gives off like dusty, musty, vinegary smell at least 5 times in a day. Let day the unit will run for 5 minutes, the first 3 minutes is fresh cool air then suddenly it will blow this bad smell. AC tech came and checked the unit, he said nothing is wrong. He gave me options like repitch the coil or the UV light. Any recommendation?
I love UV lights in HVAC units. I'm not saying it'll fix your issue, but it very well might and they're so beneficial to keeping the evap coil clean of certain problems
Soooooooooo I installed a water heater and the venting Was pre-existing ties into the furnace vent add a wire that was busted up so I replaced all of that felt they are getting sucked through the vent on the water heater felt air come out the roof but I have a funny smell in all of my rooms... Carbon monoxide detectors are everywhere nothing is going off. Maybe the y has been broken so long and so much dust has built up on both vents that it's burning off???? Any ideas??? I'm taking it apart now
#venting was pre-existing ties into the furnace vent at a y fitting that was busted up..
Hello! Make sure all of your batteries are new in your carbon monoxide detectors. Use a CO detector around the flu pipe to make sure everything is sealed. Carbon monoxide is odorless. Any odors you are smelling maybe a gas leak. Carbon monoxide detectors do not pick up gas leaks
Yes checked all of that... Both the heater and water heater vents were dumping out into the Attic b4 and we didn't detect any kind of smell.. After I replaced the broken y fitting is when i started to notice it... It's crazy how nothing showed up when everything was just flowing into the Attic
TOVAR sounds like your exhaust may not be drafting. You should call professional immediately. Carbon monoxide and gas leaks are nothing to play with
Thanks man. I'm a plumber I just don't know sqaudoodle about furnaces
Idk if you still monitor this channel but can you or anyone else tell me if Dirty Sock Syndrome can produce an odor more akin to the odor if a skunk????
Possibly. Do you have an ionizer and UV lights in your system?
My 1 year old home started having this issue when it started getting really cold outside and heater kicks on. Installer offered to replace the coil with an epoxy coated one to solve the issue. Thinking about trying it.
Let me know how it goes!
Read my comment... run your ac long and hard... spend 50 bucks in electricity before you spend thousands...
I'm experiencing that weird chemical like smell from a brand new central air conditioning unit recently installed. At first I noticed the smell in my master bedroom and I thought it was because of the new ductwork, they added new ductwork because the original return supply was too small. Now I notice the smell in other area in the house. Any suggestions how get rid of the smell please. It's a 3.5 ton concord unit.
What type of system is it? Is the outdoor unit a heat pump or straight AC? And is the indoor unit a furnace or an air handler?
It's an outdoor unit a gas pack unit. The smell is coming from the AC vents in the house as well as the return vent.
So sorry to hear that. Can you tell if the smell has dissipated any? Or is it just as strong from the beginning? Sometimes smells like the PVC glue drying will dissipate.
It's not very consistent sometimes I don't smell it all sometimes it comes out pretty strong. It's been about three weeks since the installation.
Eek. Definitely have the installation company come back out. Might not be anything too big but could be something serious.
I'm convinced uv light is a gimmick it makes money
Are used to feel that way too. I would recommend doing a little more research on them before coming to that conclusion. It’s amazing some of the things that UV light can do. More specifically, UVC light and its capabilities.
How much does Uv light run?
Michael Harless Hello! There are a few different models. Some have longer warranties on the bulbs and some do other things other than just shining a light. Give us a call at your convenience to discuss. Thank you!
There is a STRANGE SWEET WEIRD ODOR SMELL - VERY HARD TO DESCRIBE - EXPLAIN IT coming from Heat / AC HVAC Furnace When On and driving People crazy! After Technician Check / Tested / Inspected Unit & Found: NO Crack Heat Chamber, NO Carbon Monoxide Gas Fumes, NO Olfactory Hallucination (phantosmia) - I've found the answer, I AM PROUD TO BE THE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO SOLVE THIS !!!
+Jordan Bronson great! What was it?!
@@NewHVACGuide - LOL, that is a Multi-Million Dollar question! Even with 1 Billion Dollar, no one will be able to figure it out! LOL
Jordan Bronson You are such a bullshitter.