Turning your heat on for the first time when cold weather hits shouldn’t be a thriller. It shouldn’t be a gamble. You don’t want to be wondering if it will actually work, and you certainly don’t want to discover that your furnace is making a strange or terrible smell!
What’s causing that odor? Is it an emergency? Do you need urgent heating repairs, or is your furnace okay? We’ll explain the different smells you might notice coming from your heating system, and help you figure out if you have a serious problem or not.
Dust
If your heating system hasn’t been running for months, and you haven’t had routine maintenance done, it will be covered in dust. When you first turn on the heat, that dust will quickly get hot, and that will definitely make a noticeable odor. If that’s all it is, you’re not in any danger, and your heater isn’t malfunctioning.
Unfortunately, it does smell unpleasant, and you’ll want to air out your house. Opening the windows for an hour is not at all what you wanted—you wanted to warm the house up! Getting furnace maintenance done every single year, ideally before you need to turn on the heat, is how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Overheating Components
If it smells like something other than just dust is getting too hot, and the smell doesn’t go away when you air out the house, you’ve probably got one or more components overheating. This might smell like burning rubber or hot metal. Your house should smell like a home, not an auto body shop!
The biggest risk is that something might actually catch fire. In the meantime, it’s likely to do more damage to your heating system, as well as being inefficient and driving up your utility bills. Turn it off and get repairs done promptly so you won’t need to worry about any of that.
Fish or Eggs
No, it’s not time for lunch. Electrical fires or gas leaks can smell like odd food items, but not anything particularly delicious. Electrical fire releases ammonia, which has a fishy odor. Natural gas contains a malodorous additive called mercaptan which makes an eggy sulfur smell so you’ll be able to detect a leak. Either of these smells means your situation is serious!
Turn off the heating system immediately and get emergency repairs. If what you smell is gas, get out of the house before calling your natural gas provider’s urgent line or, if necessary, 9-1-1. Don’t gamble with your safety!
Keep Your Heating System Safe and Happy
All these issues are quite preventable. All you need to do is have maintenance done before any problems develop. Routine heating maintenance can cut the likelihood that you’ll need any sort of repairs by 85%! And if you do notice any sort of problem, be prompt about getting help. The sooner you get heating repair in Manassas, VA, the safer and warmer your family will be.
AllTech Services, Inc. is your trusted resource for all your heating concerns. Contact us today!