HELP PLEASE...sewer/rotten egg smell from vents
#1
07-11-10, 02:03 PM
HELP PLEASE...sewer/rotten egg smell from vents
If anyone could offer some insight, I would be so grateful. For several months now, whenever air is blowing through the vents, there is an intermittent rotten egg/sewage smell that comes out the vents and lasts about 10 minutes. It comes and goes a few times a day without any regular interval. The smell does not ever come from a drain or sink. I've had countless HVAC and AC guys out to look and all they ever want to do (or maybe all they know) is clean out the AC unit and the coils. The unit is fairly new and I've already had it cleaned. But that's all they can come up with and most people I've called have NEVER heard of something like this. Any of you out there ever experienced this? I'm having my first baby soon and can't stand that she'll have to breathe this in. Thank you so much.
Last edited by Shadeladie; 07-11-10 at 04:17 PM. Reason: Email addy not allowed. Removed for your protection.
#2
07-11-10, 02:20 PM
Group Moderator
There is only so many places you can get a smell in an HVAC system. The furnace itself (coils, heat exchanger, filter, humidifier) and the duct work. If all the furnace stuff is clean your only other option is the ducts.
BTW - Rotten egg smell is also the smell of natural gas. You might want to check and make sure you don't have a gas leak. You gas company will have testers to help find a leak if you have one.
BTW - Rotten egg smell is also the smell of natural gas. You might want to check and make sure you don't have a gas leak. You gas company will have testers to help find a leak if you have one.
#3
07-11-10, 02:35 PM
Super Moderator
Some condensate drains are connected to the main plumbing vents. Your sink and tub vents are protected by the trap that is filled with water...your A/C drains are supposed to be as well..but may not be? Do you know where your A/C unit drains are located?
Not an A/C Pro...so don't know all the rules...but I would imagine that odor could be drawn into the sytem somehow if there is a problem in that area. The fact that it happens sometimes, then fades would indicate an initial buildup during certain situations. Maybe after the toilets have been flushed in the morning...or just the opposite...when there hasn't been much water flow in the drains?
Just a few thoughts...
Not an A/C Pro...so don't know all the rules...but I would imagine that odor could be drawn into the sytem somehow if there is a problem in that area. The fact that it happens sometimes, then fades would indicate an initial buildup during certain situations. Maybe after the toilets have been flushed in the morning...or just the opposite...when there hasn't been much water flow in the drains?
Just a few thoughts...
#4
07-12-10, 08:31 PM
Group Moderator
Originally Posted by Gunguy45
Some condensate drains are connected to the main plumbing vents. Your sink and tub vents are protected by the trap that is filled with water...your A/C drains are supposed to be as well..but may not be? Do you know where your A/C unit drains are located?
Not an A/C Pro...so don't know all the rules...but I would imagine that odor could be drawn into the sytem somehow if there is a problem in that area. The fact that it happens sometimes, then fades would indicate an initial buildup during certain situations. Maybe after the toilets have been flushed in the morning...or just the opposite...when there hasn't been much water flow in the drains?
Just a few thoughts...
Not an A/C Pro...so don't know all the rules...but I would imagine that odor could be drawn into the sytem somehow if there is a problem in that area. The fact that it happens sometimes, then fades would indicate an initial buildup during certain situations. Maybe after the toilets have been flushed in the morning...or just the opposite...when there hasn't been much water flow in the drains?
Just a few thoughts...
I have seen many times a condensate drain with a loop to form a trap for the water. Maybe the OP had a loop but is was removed for some reason.
