Servicing the Sun Coast Since 1972

3 Sneaky Causes of Household Odors

Smell something stale or fishy at home? Get to the bottom of the unpleasant odors, like mildew and dead animals, lingering in your Bradenton, Florida, home.

Dry P-Traps

P-traps are part of your plumbing. They’re responsible for preventing bad odors from coming through the pipes and leaking into your house. The P-trap is filled with water, which gets replenished when you flush the toilet or run the faucet.

However, sometimes P-traps can dry up, like in bathrooms that don’t get used often. A dry P-trap allows sewer bad gases to enter your home, causing horrible odors. To prevent this problem, run the water in all your sinks and/or flush your toilets at least every month.

Mildewy Drain Pans

Your refrigerator and your HVAC system both have drain pans. Condensation and small amounts of water are a normal result of the heat exchange processes that keep the refrigerator and the AC cold.

But when those drain pans overflow or get clogged, they become a haven for mildew and mold to grow. Mildew and mold contribute to that unpleasant damp odor you sometimes smell in old houses. Hire a professional to check your drain pan and fix the problem.

Dead Animals

The nauseating scent of decay is one of the nastiest odors to deal with. Unfortunately, sometimes animals like mice or rats make it into our homes, get trapped, and perish. If the dead animal smell gets worse when the HVAC system is on, the problem may be in your ducts. Walls, crawl spaces, and ceilings are other spots that rodents enjoy infesting.

You need professional duct maintenance or an exterminator to fix this issue. Don’t try to get rid of a dead animal yourself because you don’t know what diseases it was carrying.

Your HVAC system can cause or spread bad odors in your home. One of the best ways to prevent this problem is to get routine maintenance. Call (941) 758-3080 to have a Climatic technician over at least once a year to keep your system problem-free.

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Climatic Conditioning Company, Inc., Air Conditioning Contractor, Sarasota, FL