It is always a joy coming into your space every day with a clean and cool air inside your homes. But what happens when you are greeted with a foul smell coming from your cooling system? There are several factors that will affect the performance of your air conditioning system. It will also depend on the environment and location where it will be installed and how it can affect the unit in long term usage. Haze problems, dust, dirt can contribute to the proliferation of molds and bacteria inside the system.
This will eventually manifest in the air that is being produced by the AC. A foul smell will be observed when there is already too much contaminant clogging the compartments of the system. This doesn’t just affect the amount of comfort the user experiences but also concerns the health of those that will inhale the harmful contaminants.
This problem is very common to places where smoke and pollution is very common. We can settle this easily with simple measures of cleaning and maintenance by licensed AC technicians to thoroughly clean every nooks and spaces of the unit. If this is left unsolved, not only will the health of the people will be affected but will lead to serious damage of the AC.
Checking for Signs of Smelly Aircons
Exhaust Fumes Odor
There are several types of odor that will manifest certain problems that is identifiable to most trained technicians. This will give them a clue to where it is coming from and what is causing the odor to occur. One of the common odors experienced by people is the smell of exhaust fumes. The fact that air cooling systems are not gas powered, this would alarm people. But there are some instances where parts of the AC containing the fluid that may leak that will resemble the smell of exhaust fume.
Smell of Mildew Another common type of smell that most people will observe is the smell of a moldy odor. This will only mean that the fungus has already manifested in the near outermost portion of the system. To explain this, the mechanism of the cooling system follows a removal of moisture outside and if it is unable to do this properly then this would invite the growth of molds. Getting rid of the mildew itself would be the best solution to this problem.
Skunk-like scent Other odd smells that people would notice will have indications of the part where something has been damaged. A skunk-like smell will give technicians an idea that gas could be leaking from the system. A chemical called methyl mercaptan imitates a skunk’s smell that will manifest if it leaks from the ductwork of your system. This doesn’t only smell unpleasant but also harmful when inhaled.
Solutions to a Smelly Aircons
Inspect the insides of the unit
First thing to do when foul odors are observed inside the air cooling unit is to protect yourself using protective mask that can filter out any contaminants that will be inhaled. Using the user manual, carefully open the front panel according to the instructions given. It may be dark inside, so using a flashlight to insect may be used. Several things can possibly cause the odor may it be dead animals that got stuck inside or decaying vegetation. This can be removed to get rid of the smell it emits when air is being expelled from the vents of the system.
Clean the AC Using protective clothing like mask, gloves and goggles, carefully remove any debris that may be visible inside. Dead animals can also possibly lurk inside and cause the foul smell and should be removed. Locate the air conditioner coil and clean it according to the user manual’s instructions preferably using a foaming coil cleaner. This is usually allowed to stay for 10-15 minutes and then carefully rinsed. This is repeated whenever necessary.
Clean the Drain Line The drain line is one of the most common sites of contamination when left unclean for a very long time. This can be cleaned by removing the condensation drain line from its position. This should be flushed using bleach and hot water or an alternative would be white vinegar. This would help sanitize and get rid of the molds inside the line. The pan and the hole should also be cleaned together with the drain line.
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