A Smell in a Home Air Conditioner
In the summer, you rely on your air conditioner to keep your family cool and comfortable. A strange smell coming from the air vents whenever the air conditioner runs can ruin your enjoyment of the cool air. A smell in your home air conditioner is a signal that the unit needs maintenance. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Smells
-
Common smells that occur within a home air conditioner include the musty odor of mold, smoke and cooking odors. You will notice these smells when you run your air conditioning unit. In addition to cool air, the smell will blow into your home. If you ignore the odors, not only will they grow worse but they could trigger more serious problems with your home. All three odors are caused by a condition classified as odoriferous coil, but each has a different root cause.
Causes
-
If you smell the earthy stink of mold growth from your air conditioner, you have a mold problem within the air conditioning unit itself. When conditions are too moist inside the unit, mold can grow on the condenser coil. When your air conditioner blows cold air into your home, it also blows mold spores and their musty odor. If someone smokes within your household, the odor of smoke can sink into the coil and be redistributed into your home whenever the air conditioner runs. The same thing can happen with intense cooking odors.
-
Solutions
-
You can get rid of the smell in your home air conditioner by cleaning the condenser coil. A solution of 1/2 cup of bleach in a gallon of water will kill mold and its spores. Examine the condenser pan to ensure it is draining properly, which will prevent water from building up and recreating the moist environment that allowed the mold to grow in the first place. The same bleach solution will deodorize the coil and remove smoke and cooking odors.
Considerations
-
If you have problems with smoke or cooking odors in your air conditioning unit, cleaning the condenser coil will not be enough to remove those odors from your home. You must also replace your air filter because it can absorb odors and recirculate them into your home. Smoke and cooking odors can sink into walls, furniture and carpets, so they might linger long after your air conditioner no longer has an issue with odoriferous coil.
-
