Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing - Advice, Discussion and Tips from ARS®/Rescue Rooter®. Welcome to the ARS/Rescue Rooter Home Connect, your online resource center for information, answers and interactive advice about air conditioning, heating, plumbing and drain maintenance. As part of our commitment to providing exceptional service, we created the ARS/Rescue Rooter Home Connect to be a useful tool with many helpful ways to find what you need.
Why does my air conditioning smell bad when we turn it back on after a few hours or days say after a cold snap in Tampa? When we turn it back on the smell is horrible to a point where I have to run it with the windows open for a while. After it runs consistently for a while the smell eventually gets better or disappears. When the heater comes on though we do not have the smell problem, just the AC. We have replaced all our ductwork and the smell did not get better.
The first step is to try your best to identify the smell. If it smells like an electrical melting or burning of wires, you should definitely call a HVAC tech right away. This could be caused by a weak capacitator or a weak fan motor, among other things. I suggest you have the evaporator coil and the blower assembly checked for mold and mildew and to see if they are dirty. If you can identify the smell as close to that of dirty socks and you have a heat pump, the smell may be caused by microbes that reproduce when temperatures fluctuate between hot and cold. On the other hand, if your home has that damp, basement smell, the source may be moisture and/or a water leak. Moist areas can lead to mold and foul-smelling bacteria colonies. When you have a furnace in your attic with a cooling coil mounted on the supply end, sometimes leaks in the return air ductwork from the return air grills to the furnace blower end connection or even a loose door on the blower compartment will distribute attic air throughout your living area. This air may have a distinctive smell. The best option is to contact a professional plumbing contractor, such as the ARS/Rescue Rooter branch serving the Tampa, FL area at (828) 588-4200 or (813) 623-2665, who will provide a complete system check.
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Bob Soappman I started heating and air conditioning in the U.S. Army doing field repairs on refrigeration systems
Curt Gandy I am married with 3 children. I enjoy golfing, watching Chargers football, and spending time with my family...
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