Your air conditioner is supposed to provide your reprieve and relief from the sweltering heats and make your home into a comfortable living space, but that doesn’t always happen. Much like any kind of mechanical object, there are plenty of things that can, and probably will go wrong.

One such issue is your air conditioning unit causing your home, or a room, to smell awful. This can mean that your idyllic safe space that was supposed to cool now smells terrible and it is impossible to ignore, all while it is heating up. If your aircon starts smelling funny, here are some tips on how to handle it.

Determining What the Smell Is

The first step to getting rid of the smell is to figure out what it is, and to some extent, where it is coming from. Obviously, you know it is from your aircon system/unit, but it could be something in the vents and not the unit itself. Check any vents for dead rodents, rotten food, mold, etc. to clear them out. Next, you should inspect the actual unit to see similar problems.

The smells from an aircon unit can be incredibly gross and they vary in odor. Thankfully, these smells can give you a good hint as to what the problem is. Mildew, rotten eggs, stinky feet, and exhaust fumes are some of the most common stenches. Smells like mildew give you a good idea that it is mold growing from moisture content, rotten eggs could be a dead animal in the unit or ventilation, and fumes could be leaking fluid inside your aircon unit. Find the smell and source first to figure out your next steps.

Repair or Maintenance Options

There are plenty of repair and maintenance options but the first is always calling a technician, especially for tricky units in certain buildings, like apartments. If you live in a high-rise in a populated building, like in Singapore, the smell can start wafting throughout rooms or floors and really tick off your neighbors. You need to call air conditioner servicing Singapore experts to fix this quickly, get rid of the smell for your own sake, and for everyone else’s. This is a good time to call the repair people because it will be difficult to reach some of the parts.

If your unit is outside a house, you can do some maintenance yourself by clearing any debris from it, like a dead animal. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that, but you can do a quick inspection of any leaking fluids or mildew. Mildew or mold can be cleaned by yourself (remember to turn off the unit/power) but any internal mechanisms or fluids should be left to the professionals as it is hard work to repair and dangerous.

What You Shouldn’t Do

As mentioned in the previous section, there are certainly some don’ts when it comes to dealing with a foul-smelling aircon unit. The first is to never try to repair any serious issues yourself, especially any mechanical parts like gears, electrical, or leaks. The damage you can do will end up being worse than the smell you were trying to get rid of and might result in having to replace the unit entirely. 

Even for simple fixes like removing something from a vent or a fan, like organic matter, always wear protection with gloves, mask, and goggles just to be safe. You don’t want anything getting into cuts or into your eyes/nose/mouth. If you are going to be doing any kind of fixes, make sure that the power is off so that the machine can’t turn on when you’re around it. For the most part though, just leave it to the pros.

How to Avoid it for Next Time

After going through an annoying ordeal of cleaning and fixing this problem, the last thing you want is for it to happen again. The best way to do this is by routinely monitoring how your aircon unit and system are doing. Check vents for any debris or mold/mildew, same with the unit itself. You also want to check coolant lines for leaks and any issues with the electrical work. Keeping up with the regular maintenance is advised as well so see what the manufacturer has to say about when it needs servicing.

A smelly aircon unit is not an issue you would expect from your cooling unit, but that’s how it is sometimes. To avoid this problem, use these tips to figure out what smell it could be and how to get it fixed, plus how to avoid it in the future.