{"id":680,"date":"2022-05-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conyers.premierishere.com\/blog\/?p=680"},"modified":"2022-05-09T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T15:00:00","slug":"whats-that-moldy-smell-coming-from-the-ac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premierishere.com\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/whats-that-moldy-smell-coming-from-the-ac\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s That Moldy Smell Coming From the AC?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Here\u2019s an odor you don\u2019t want floating around inside your house: a moldy stench that smells like a pile of dirty socks. It seems to be coming from the air conditioning vents. What\u2019s causing it and what can you do about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It won\u2019t shock you to learn that what you\u2019re experiencing is a common problem with air conditioners known as \u201cdirty sock syndrome.\u201d Yes, the people who named it knew exactly what they were talking about. No, nobody has tossed a bunch of dirty socks into your HVAC system (I mean, we don\u2019t think so). But the odor is coming from the same source as smelly socks\u2014bacteria from microbes. You\u2019ve got a source of it in your AC, and we can probably guess what it is. Below we\u2019ll talk more about how dirty sock syndrome happens in an air conditioner and what you can do about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Moldy AC Evaporator Coil<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We bring up this topic now because spring is the season when this is most likely to affect your air conditioning. The reason is a combination of high humidity and less work for the AC. You won\u2019t run your air conditioner as often in this time of year, and that allows more time for moisture as well as dust to start to build up inside the unit, primarily across the indoor evaporator coil. This coil is where the most moisture collects in the air conditioner. The damp environment makes it easy for mold, mildew, and bacteria to develop. As air moves through the HVAC system, it must pass by the coil, where it will pick up the unpleasant odor from these growths and spread them around the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bad News About a Moldy AC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What, aside from the odor? Yes, that\u2019s definitely bad enough on its own. But this isn\u2019t just a cosmetic problem\u2014you don\u2019t want mold and bacteria developing along your AC because of two other factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n