Your furnace can create some unpleasant odors when it turns on for the first time, here are 4 odors that can arise when the heat is on, and what they can mean:
A Burning, Dusty Smell: After a long summer, your furnace will accumulate dust. When it turns on for the first time as temperatures drop, that dust can heat up and produce a burning smell. It is normal and should go away after the first few hours of usage. If not, contact us for an inspection.
A Smoky, Car Engine Smell: You must have an oil furnace! Just like the smell of an oil leak burning up on a car engine, your oil furnace can have leaks and these will cause the same smell. Try replacing your oil filter and see if that fixes the problem. Otherwise, just like with a car, you want to get these leaks diagnosed and fixed quickly before they become much larger problems.
A Plastic, Chemical Smell: This can either be some plastic that’s fallen through a register and is burning off (eg, if you have kids, their LEGOs have a way of falling into floor registers), or it is a much more serious electrical problem that really could be the result of numerous problematic causes. First, check your floor registers for debris, toys or spills — if you don’t find anything then call us for an inspection.
A Musty, Moldy Smell: This is another common odor that can either be from dirt and mold in the ducts of your HVAC system, or just mean you need to replace your air filters and/or humidifier filters. However, after a long Kansas City summer, milder temps often come with rain and humidity, which can bring out musty smells in older homes, and that may coincide with heat coming on for the first time in the season. Wait and see if the odor persists. If it does, then give us a call.
There are certainly other odors that can be cause for concern, but those are the main ones that can arise when the heat is turned on for the first time. If you smell anything else like stink bugs, animal urine, or the telltale cucumber scent of copperhead snakes, please DON’T call us and try an exterminator or animal control! Everything else, we can handle.
