How to respond to odors from your gas or oil heating system.
With temperatures plummeting across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, homeowners are powering up their furnaces, often for the first time in quite a while.
At Mirabito Energy Products, we strongly encourage you to test your furnace in the fall to ensure that it’s operating as intended. We also recommend you put your senses to work to determine if something is off about its operations. One of the standard issues that people notice on this first furnace cycle is an odor, often a burning smell. This odor may not actually be cause for concern, though. In this article, we’ll take you through some reasons your furnace may smell peculiar the first time you run it.
The Most Common Culprit — Dust
We get that people can be worried by the smell of something burning from their heating equipment. The most common cause of these smells is dust, however. Like anything else that sits idle for months, a furnace’s burner will accumulate dust, and it can burn when your equipment’s flames click back on. Most of the time, this dust will burn off, and the odor will go away quickly.
Dirty Air Filters Can Also Cause Off-Smells
If you have central air conditioning, then your heating and cooling system’s air filter gets a workout during the summer and fall, stopping airborne pollutants from entering your home. In that time, it might have become clogged with dust, pollen, pet dander, debris and even mold. When hot air starts blowing through a dirty filter, it might come out of your vents with a funk.
We recommend you check your air filter every month during the peak heating and cooling seasons and change or clean it if it’s dirty.
Components in New Equipment Give Off Odors Sometimes
A plastic or chemical smell isn’t unusual if you’re running a new furnace for the first time. The protective coating of various components is meeting flames and extreme heat and giving off this odor. Keep running the system and open the windows to let the smell disperse. If it’s still coming from your vents after an hour or so, reach out to your installer to look at the equipment.
Is There Debris or Dirt in Your Ductwork?
Sundry objects, dirt, grit and other debris may have found their way into your ducts. If you’re able to home in on the vent where the smell is coming from, you can open it up and try locating the debris.
When Is It Time to Contact the Pros at Mirabito
If addressing these potential issues doesn’t get rid of the strange smell coming from your furnace, the problem could be more serious, like bad wiring or a mechanical issue. This type of fix requires a trained HVAC professional. The heating professionals at Mirabito Energy Products are always available to provide furnace repair work.
We also perform standard preventive maintenance, which can be critical to preventing service issues, including the problems that can lead to these strange smells. Regular maintenance also helps your heating equipment run more efficiently, saving you money throughout the year. To ensure your furnace gets annual service (and get discounts and priority scheduling if you need a repair), sign up for a Mirabito Service Membership.
To protect your furnace with a Service Membership, arrange a maintenance or repair visit or get a FREE estimate on new home heating equipment, get in touch with the Mirabito team today.