3 Furnace Odors You Shouldn’t Ignore in Loudon, TN

February 15, 2021

Every year, some homes experience combustion spillage, or gases from combustion leaking into the home, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Oil and gas furnaces use combustion to burn the fuel for heat. When something is wrong with your furnace in Loudon, TN, it may emit bad odors that smell like rotten eggs, chlorine, metal or burning oil.

1. Rotten Eggs

Natural gas is odorless, but gas companies add mercaptan to alert homeowners to a natural gas leak. Mercaptan is a sulfur-based chemical that has the smell of rotten eggs.

When you smell an odor like rotten eggs coming from your furnace in Loudon, TN, you should turn it off and leave the house until a heating repair technician inspects it. Healthline warns that symptoms of inhaling natural gas include nausea, headaches, fatigue, dizziness and irregular breathing.

2. Chlorine or Metallic Smell

A chlorine or metallic smell indicates that wires are burning or melting inside your furnace. This problem is more common in old furnaces because worn bearings can cause problems with the motor, which in turn makes the heater draw more electricity. Too much electricity can melt and burn wires inside the heating system.

You can prevent this type of problem by scheduling regular maintenance. During furnace maintenance, technicians inspect the bearings, check the electrical connections, and clean out dirt and debris.

3. Burning Oil

Make sure that you don’t store items too close to the furnace because they can begin melting from the emitted heat. Double-check that a toy or another object hasn’t fallen too close to the furnace.

If you recently filled your tank with oil, spilled oil can cause a burning oil smell for one or two days. This situation typically isn’t a reason for concern.

A burning oil smell that lasts longer, however, is a concern. You’ll need to schedule a heating repair to fix the problem with your furnace.

Bad smells coming from the furnace usually mean it’s malfunctioning in some way. Only a certified heating technician can determine what’s wrong with the furnace. Contact us at Cook’s Comfort Systems, Inc., to schedule furnace repair in Loudon, TN.

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