This odor is intended to alert homeowners to potential gas leaks as soon as possible.
Gas furnace attic smell.
During the summer dust settles within the hvac on the heat exchanger.
If your heat has been running and you realize there is an unusual burning smell coming from the furnace the smell can be quite disconcerting.
The smell of natural gas or propane gas around your gas furnace is not good.
If your furnace smells like gas and you have ruled out the other more obvious options ensure that the smell is coming from your air vents called registers.
This is normal but you can cut down on the duration of this unpleasant smell by opening some windows to allow for cross ventilation to dissipate the smell quickly.
The first time your furnace is used in the winter when furnaces sit idle for months dust and debris build up.
So before you call for hvac service look around and make sure you don t have a dead rodent in the attic somewhere.
The first time you turn it on you might detect a bit of gas odor as it clears out the cobwebs and burns up the dust.
A very significant difference indicates a large return leak.
Run the furnace fan and check the temperature of the air going into the return air grills and in the return air duct just before the furnace.
It s normal to lose a bit of heat though if it s going through an attic duct.
You can prevent this smell by dusting off the furnace before switching it on.
If the smell isn t coming from the vents it s most likely a leak at a pipe fitting or within the equipment.
If you have a furnace in your attic then you can install almost any type of equipment in that space without compromising your safety.
It likely means you have a gas leak.
A few days ago when i went up to the attic to take some stuff up to storage i noticed a faint natural gas odor at the top of my attic steps which are very close to the furnace.
If you smell something burning it could be a furnace problem.
When you turn on the furnace for the first time you might notice a slight gas smell while the furnace burns off the accumulated debris.
Even gas furnaces work there when you have the proper venting and alarm systems available to ensure any leaks are detected quickly.
The furnace has been working fine mostly just coming on at night as it is.
Our natural gas heater is in our attic.
Sometimes when you first turn on the heater it can smell like gas is burning.
A burning smell is something many folks readily associate with fire and a fire in your home is something no one wants to discover.
When the furnace is turned on the dust gets burned off.
It could also mean you have a dead rodent in the attic somewhere.
Natural gas used for heating is treated with sulphur to give it its distinct rotten egg smell.
After a few seconds i could not smell it anymore and thought that maybe i was just being paranoid.
If you smell sulphur leave the area and call an hvac technician as well as your gas company.
