Guest guest Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 Does anyone know what that odor is that comes from the furnace when you first start it up for the season? I always assumed it was dust that needed to burn off and always just put up with it, but now wondering if this isn't healthy, especially given that lead dust has been found in the house this past year. Does anyone know enough about heating and cooling equipment to know where that smell would be coming from? For the meantime, I just turned the system off. Thanks, BarbB from Cinci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 It's " dust bunnies " burning off. If you have anumals it could also be animal hair. It will not hurt you but you might want to open a window first to clear the air. I did it once and it set off the fire alarm. :-) Marcie barb1283 <barb1283@...> wrote: Does anyone know what that odor is that comes from the furnace when you first start it up for the season? I always assumed it was dust that needed to burn off and always just put up with it, but now wondering if this isn't healthy, especially given that lead dust has been found in the house this past year. Does anyone know enough about heating and cooling equipment to know where that smell would be coming from? For the meantime, I just turned the system off. Thanks, BarbB from Cinci FAIR USE NOTICE: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Barb, You are correct, the odor is that of burned house dust that has settled on the furnace heat exchanger (which contains the flame and therefore gets quite hot). House dust consists primarily of human skin scales, lint and some plant materials. After cycling on and off a few times, the furnace odor goes away. The smoke is no more harmful than any other smoke (cooked meat or burner paper). If there were lead in the dust, you would have more of an exposure from breathing the dust indoors directly. At the start of the heating season, to avoid breathing much of the smoke, you could open all the windows for the first few minutes of furnace operation (or until the odor dissipates). If the odor persists, there is another cause. If you have only a furnace (no central AC), then covering up all the vents and returns might reduct the amount of dust that settles into the system over the summer. C. May May Indoor Air Investigations LLC www.mayindoorair.com www.myhouseiskillingme.com >Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 18:35:28 -0000 >From: " barb1283 " <barb1283@...> >Subject: Smell coming from Furnace >Does anyone know what that odor is that comes from the furnace when >you first start it up for the season? I always assumed it was dust >that needed to burn off and always just put up with it, but now >wondering if this isn't healthy, especially given that lead dust has >been found in the house this past year. Does anyone know enough about >heating and cooling equipment to know where that smell would be coming >from? For the meantime, I just turned the system off. >Thanks, BarbB from Cinci -- Reply to: Jeff@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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