Why Does Your AC Smell Like Rotten Eggs? Find Out


There is nothing as disheartening as retreating to your home after a hectic day, only for an unpleasant odor to hit your face when you run the AC. The situation worsens if a highly pungent rotten egg smell fills your house, creating an uncomfortable ambiance. Of course, such an unusual smell points to underlying problems in the system, and therefore it is wise you employ the services of an AC repair expert for a system evaluation. They will identify the cause of the smell and repair it.

This guide shares the reasons your AC smells like rotten eggs. 

Clogged Air Filters 

Over time, the air filter clogs with dust, debris, and other contaminants as it cleans the air from your home's interior. Sulfur in the air may get lodged with other airborne particulates, gradually accumulating in the filters into high concentrations. As a result, you will experience a strong smell of rotten eggs when your AC is running. Therefore, you should hire an AC technician to clean or replace your air filters to improve indoor air quality. Moreover, you may need to install an air purifier to supplement air filters in sanitizing the air.

Mold Growth

Although mold has a distinct musty odor, severe mold growth can make your house smell like rotten eggs. This is due to moisture entering through the ducts and vents, providing damp areas for mold to grow. Moreover, a leak in the drip pan or a blocked condensate line may cause mold colonies to thrive, producing a rotten eggs smell. Thus, you should engage an AC contractor to clean the ducts, vents, and drain lines to prevent moisture from building up. 

Gas Leaks

Even though natural gas is odorless, utility providers inject additives such as mercaptan into gas lines. This gives the gas a distinct smell to help you easily detect a leaky gas line. However, since the supply lines run through your walls to the appliances using it, a leak may permeate the air ducts, causing a smell of rotten eggs when cool air blasts from the vents. In this case, your air conditioning repair expert needs to locate and patch the leaks to remedy this problem. 

Dead Animals

Although it is uncommon for rodents to infiltrate your ductwork and die there, they may gain access during winter in pursuit of a shelter. Consequently, as the animals die and decompose, bacteria may produce hydrogen sulfide similar to rotten eggs. The best solution, in this case, is to hire an AC specialist for ductwork cleaning. 

Rotten eggs smell from your AC may not be inviting to your guests. Thus, you should schedule an immediate appointment with a home appliance repair expert to ensure your system produces clean and fresh air.

Reach out to a company like Hotshot Appliance, Heating & Cooling for more information.

About Me

cool and hot areas of the home

I live in an older home that we are working to renovate. There are three areas of the house that just don't seem to get cool in the summer or get warm in the winter. I have done all that I can to try to keep these areas comfortable, but I wasn't able to do much until I hired an HVAC technician to come out and figure out why those areas were so uncomfortable. This blog will show you what can be causing areas of your home to be less comfortable than other areas when it comes to temperature during both winter and summer.