Burning Furnace Smell

When a furnace is turned on and begins emitting strong smells in your McAllen home, it's a clear indication that something is wrong. However, because there can be many different reasons behind the smell, there can also be numerous kinds of smells as well.

While some smells may be very foul in nature, they do not necessarily pose a safety risk to the home. However, some smells do indicate a safety risk for the home, so it's a good idea to cut off power to the furnace until it can be examined by a service technician. To find out what some smells mean and the risks they can pose, take a look at the following reasons.

Furnace Motor

If the furnace is turned on and after a few minutes begins to emit a strong smell that indicates plastic is burning, there's a good chance the unit's motor is burning up. If this is the case, the furnace should be turned off immediately and the power to it turned off as well until a service technician arrives to examine the problem.

In most cases like this, it is the windings inside the motor that cause the smell. When they short-circuit, not only is a strong smell of burning plastic present, but also a very sweet smell that is sickly in nature.

Transformer Short Circuits

When the thermostat for a furnace is replaced or upgraded, the transformer often short-circuits as a result. This is due to the circuit board in the furnace not being able to adjust to the change, and mistakenly thinks the furnace is burning up.

However, the motor continues to run at a much slower speed, which will help it cool off in the process. Despite how it sounds, this is a very easy repair for McAllen technicians to make, so the furnace should be working well again in a short period of time.

Dirty Ductwork

Just as a furnace may not be cleaned for several years, the ductwork attached to it also stays dirty for a long period of time. As a result, years of dirt, debris, and other things build up inside the ductwork.

Then when the furnace is turned on at the beginning of the season, a strong smell of dirt and pollution are present in all rooms of the house. By having a service technician clean the ductwork and the furnace, any smells that may be present will quickly disappear.

Is your furnace in smelling up your McAllen, TX home? Call All Valley Plumbing & AC Co. today at (956) 622-5813, and get that foul odor out of your home.