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    mustyAC's Avatar
    mustyAC Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Oct 24, 2009, 08:09 PM
    Musty smell only when AC is running, Not Heat
    Hello, I hope someone can help me with this!

    Because of the fluctuating weather, we had to turn on the heat in our daughter's rooms last week.

    Well, this week it was back in the 70's and we turned the AC back on to find a STINKY, MUSTY smell coming out of the vents and stinking up their rooms!

    We turned on the heater to make sure this smell is limited to only the AC, and it is.

    It is now 76 degrees in their rooms because I refuse to turn on the AC.

    Does anybody know what this could be?? What can we do to fix this? We don't have much money to spend on a contractor.
    sjbhtgac's Avatar
    sjbhtgac Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #2

    Oct 24, 2009, 08:29 PM
    I had a call like this before and I installed a new evaporator and recommended a good duct cleaning company. This totally solved the issue without a callback. It is more expensive this route but when your ducts and evaporator get saturated there is no quick fix.
    hvac1000's Avatar
    hvac1000 Posts: 14,540, Reputation: 435
    Heating & Air Conditioning Expert
    		  
    #3

    Oct 25, 2009, 04:59 AM
    You have the dirty socks syndrome. A good coil cleaning with the proper chemicals will solve your problems. Mold and mildue give off a gas when wet and the coil gets wet during A/C operation since the coil removes moisture from the air. This is part of what A/C does besides lowering the temperature in the home.

    You can replace the coil as suggested which is a major cost but eventually the smell will be back since the household mold and mildue situstion cause in the home has not been addressed. I will not go into why some homes have this problem and some do not at this time. I have to clean mine every year as part of the spring service and if I do not the smell will be back.
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