thais0n
New Member
We moved into a brand new house 3 years ago. We are on an annual maintenance plan with the company (very reputable) that installed our system.
On the 3rd floor, we have an air handler in the attic and a heat pump on the outside of the house. We notice - both with heat and AC - we get an occasional odd smell. My wife said it smells like mildew - to me it smells more like fresh paint (we haven't painted in a long time - but that's the closest thing I can relate it to).
We use AprilAire filters replaced every 6 months. The system also has a fresh air intake and we have experience the odor with it both on and off.
If there was mildew growing in our ducts, I would assume we would have the smell all the time. Sometimes when the air kicks on - no smell at all. Most of the times when we do get the odor, it will eventually fade away - its not constant for the entire time the air is running.
The HVAC company is out of ideas - their next recommendation is a $1000+ carbon/UV filter system, which I am not doing.
I'm out of ideas....the coils have been cleaned, the condensate drain is running free - it runs straight to the outside of the house (no tapping into sewer lines). The only thing I can think of is that maybe there is some small leak in the system where its pulling some air from the attic, which may give it that initial funky smell. I've considered plugging in an AirWick kinda thing in the attic - then if I get that smell coming through the vents, then I would know if its pulling attic air into the system.
Any other ideas? Any other info i can provide?
On the 3rd floor, we have an air handler in the attic and a heat pump on the outside of the house. We notice - both with heat and AC - we get an occasional odd smell. My wife said it smells like mildew - to me it smells more like fresh paint (we haven't painted in a long time - but that's the closest thing I can relate it to).
We use AprilAire filters replaced every 6 months. The system also has a fresh air intake and we have experience the odor with it both on and off.
If there was mildew growing in our ducts, I would assume we would have the smell all the time. Sometimes when the air kicks on - no smell at all. Most of the times when we do get the odor, it will eventually fade away - its not constant for the entire time the air is running.
The HVAC company is out of ideas - their next recommendation is a $1000+ carbon/UV filter system, which I am not doing.
I'm out of ideas....the coils have been cleaned, the condensate drain is running free - it runs straight to the outside of the house (no tapping into sewer lines). The only thing I can think of is that maybe there is some small leak in the system where its pulling some air from the attic, which may give it that initial funky smell. I've considered plugging in an AirWick kinda thing in the attic - then if I get that smell coming through the vents, then I would know if its pulling attic air into the system.
Any other ideas? Any other info i can provide?
