How To Handle AC Smells Musty

Once you are finally at the point where you need to turn on your air conditioner for the first time in a while to kick off the summer, all you are likely hoping is that it works. This is where off-season maintenance comes into play. You need to carefully maintain your AC unit throughout the winter months to keep it ready for the warmer months when you will be using it a lot. Routine maintenance will not only help you keep your AC unit as clean as possible, but a professional can spot problem areas that might cause issues down the line.

However, AC maintenance is not only for keeping everything working correctly. It is also to keep your unit free from the musty smell that can build up if you are not paying attention to it. Below, we will be going over what makes your AC unit smell, whether or not it is dangerous, how to get rid of it, and how to prevent it from happening in the first place.

What Is The Smell?

If you just turned on your AC unit for the first time in a while and your unit is kicking out a musty odor, your unit is in need of a thorough cleaning job. Unfortunately, that musty smell is a signal/sign that mold has grown and built up rapidly in your unit which can cause your unit to output a musty odor. Mold is something that tends to grow in cool and dark areas. Because of this, your air conditioning unit is a very prominent place to experience mold growth. For this reason, it is imperative to keep your air conditioning unit clean at all times.

What Causes It?

Evaporator Coil

There are various things that can cause mold growth or an odor problem stemming from your AC unit. For one, it can be your evaporator coil. If it ends up being your evaporator coil, you are going to want to be sure that your AC coils are routinely cleaned throughout the year. While it might be tempting to handle it on your own, it is always recommended to hire a professional for jobs like this.

Air Ducts or Drain Line

Another problem that could be causing your mold growth or odor problem is leaks in your air ducts or even a clogging in your drain line. While these aren’t necessarily the first places you might think to look if you are experiencing a musty odor, they are the likely causes of the problem. Either problem could result in an environment where mold can grow rapidly. If you are dealing with a leak in your air duct, it can be especially prominent to experience mold growth due to the damp and dark conditions.

Routine maintenance is going to be a great way to effectively avoid these issues from ever occurring in the first place. However, if you are dealing with something like a leak, it is going to need to be fixed to prevent the same problem from happening over and over again.

Is It Dangerous?

While it is not necessarily an immediate threat that can pose significant risks to you and your family’s health, it is something that can cause long-term health complications if not treated promptly and adequately. Unfortunately, mold growth in your AC unit can become a huge problem primarily because it can then circulate throughout your entire home and become an airborne irritant that can cause issues with your respiratory system.

This is especially problematic for those that might have people living in their homes that suffer from various respiratory illnesses and disorders. A lot of people will experience allergic-type symptoms when dealing with prolonged exposure to mold. Mold exposure is never a good thing, and it can cause even more severe problems in those that deal with significant sensitivities to it. Therefore, it is best to be avoided at all costs especially with something that can be easily prevented.

Overall, there are a lot of things that you are going to want to be aware of when it comes to dealing with musty odors and mold growth stemming from your AC unit. Regardless of the problem, you want to get it solved by a professional as soon as possible. While not necessarily an immediate threat, long-term exposure to mold is never a good thing. By investing in routine maintenance for your AC unit during the warmer months, you should be able to easily prevent a lot of these problems from becoming a larger issue. You want to focus on hiring a professional to perform the routine maintenance because they know and understand what to look for and the signs and problems that could steamroll into mold growth in your AC unit.

If you have a bad smell in your house because of your AC unit, be sure to contact Icon Mechanical.