{"id":580,"date":"2024-11-18T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/?p=580"},"modified":"2024-11-18T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T17:00:00","slug":"whats-that-smell-is-it-your-furnace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/heating-service\/whats-that-smell-is-it-your-furnace\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s That Smell? Is It Your Furnace?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here in Wisconsin, you really don\u2019t want to have to worry about your heating system. It\u2019s too important\u2014you need it to just work and not cause you any trouble. But despite our wishes, sometimes our heating systems do have problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might realize there\u2019s an issue because you aren\u2019t warm enough, or parts of your house are very warm while other parts are cold. You might notice a spike in your utility bills or the system rapidly turning on and off. You might hear an odd noise. One other way that furnace problems<\/a> can present themselves is with an odor. Do all heating system smells mean repairs are necessary? No. We\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

No Repairs Needed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If it\u2019s the first time you\u2019ve started up the furnace this fall, did you have maintenance done first? No? Perhaps all you\u2019re smelling is hot dust because the system wasn\u2019t clean. Open some windows and give it some time. If the smell doesn\u2019t last more than an hour, that\u2019s probably all it was. Everything is okay. But you should schedule routine maintenance! It\u2019ll get the system clean, reduce repair needs, and boost efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schedule Repairs Soon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What if the smell is not just dust? If the odor is more unpleasant, as though metal or plastic is getting too hot, you might have an overheating component. (Again, maintenance would probably have prevented this!) It does require repair. It could be friction between moving parts, worn bearings in the motor, or something electrical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Emergency Repairs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you notice a smell that reminds you of fish, it\u2019s because of ammonia in the air. Do you know what releases ammonia besides decaying fish? Electrical fire! This smell, or the overheating smell we already mentioned accompanied by crackling, buzzing, scorch marks, or sparks means it\u2019s time to shut the heating system off entirely. Don\u2019t turn it back on until you\u2019ve gotten repairs done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evacuate Your Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about another less-than-pleasant food smell: too many hard-boiled eggs, possibly gone bad. It\u2019s sulfur, and natural gas smells like this because\u2014although it is odorless in its pure state\u2014something called mercaptan is added to give it an odor you can\u2019t fail to notice. That\u2019s for your safety, so don\u2019t try to ignore it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you shut off the heating system or the gas entirely without wasting much time? Do it. But get yourself, family, and pets out of the home as quickly as you can. Once you\u2019re safely out, call for help. Your natural gas provider should have an emergency phone number. If you can\u2019t get someone to help quickly enough, this is a serious enough concern for you to dial 911. Stay out of the house until the professionals let you back in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do keep in mind, that most of these problems (in fact, 85% of potential repair needs your furnace might have) can be avoided entirely. How? With routine annual furnace maintenance in Madison, WI<\/a>! Schedule yours today.
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You <\/strong>can always count on 24-Hour Home Comfort Services,<\/strong><\/a> your heating and cooling specialists.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One other way that furnace problems can present themselves is with an odor. Do all heating system smells mean repairs are necessary? No. We\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,87],"tags":[136,125],"class_list":["post-580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heating-service","category-milton","tag-furnace-maintenance","tag-madison"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.24hrhcs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}