When you turn your air conditioner on you expect to feel it right away. What you do not expect is to smell it as well, and not in a good way. And yet often people call and tell us that they do and it is indeed not unusual for air conditioners to give off strange smells. But what is causing them and how can you deal with them? Here is some basic information that should help you get started back on the road to a cool – but stink free – home.
What Causes Air Conditioner Smells?
There are several common causes of air conditioner smells. One of the most common is mold or mildew. Often, especially at the beginning of the summer, when an air conditioner has been idle all winter long, dirt and dust in the unit includes microscopic spores that have just been waiting for the right conditions to grow. Once the unit is turned on the cool, but damp, conditions that will then exist provide just that and, unseen because it is hidden inside the air conditioner, the mold and mildew grows releasing that common musty smell.
A dirty filter can also be a cause of air conditioner odors. Your system’s filter’s job is to pull odor-causing contaminants out of the air supply as it circulates. If you have not been changing your air filter on a regular basis, these captured contaminants are often circulated back into the air, not only causing odors but also decreasing the quality of the air itself.
Finally, occasionally the bad smells may not even be caused by a problem with the AC unit itself it is simply that as it works it is picking them up out of the air and recirculating them back into it, giving the illusion that the odors are coming from the air conditioner when in reality the problem lies elsewhere.
Fighting Air Conditioner Odors
Fortunately there are ways to fight stinky air conditioner smells that are relatively easy to implement:
Don’t Skip the Annual Check Up – There are lots of reasons that your air conditioner should be professionally serviced on an annual basis – preferably before it’s called ‘into action’ in the summer – and helping to eliminate odor causing problems is one of them.
When the AC unit is cleaned as a part of such a service all of those dormant contaminants are removed before they can begin to cause a problem.
Change the Filter Regularly – Your air conditioner’s filter really does need to be changed on regular basis in order for the unit to function at its highest capacity anyway and certainly if you want to avoid an odor problem.
Make Some Changes Around the House – You can work to rid your home of those outside odors that your AC may be worsening by doing the following:
Always run extractor fans when cooking in the kitchen or when the bathroom is in use.
Vacuum, sweep and dust a little more often in order to reduce the amount of dust, dirt and other contaminants that can easily be ‘sucked up’ by your A/C unit
Consider purchasing an air purifier. These are relatively inexpensive gadgets that can remove 95-99% of all of the contaminants in the air in the room in which they are located, improving the overall air quality while also reducing the load on your air conditioner.
If you have any questions about our range of services, please do not hesitate to contact us on 816-436-1000 or email us: service@arcticairkc.com. One of our friendly and knowledgeable staff members will be happy to assist you in any way they can and answer all your queries.