Air Conditioner Coolant Smell

Understanding what freon and other coolants smell like is essential in case your air conditioning unit has a refrigerant leak.

Air conditioner coolant smell.

Your coolant is always circulation through the heater core even when the heater is off there is some leakage. Over time sometimes these copper coils crack and leak refrigerant. Refrigerant has a sweet chloroform scent so that could be the chemical odor you re smelling. Losing coolant and can smell antifreeze through the air vents once the engine is warmed up.

If someone has smoked in the home the odors could accumulate in the filter and evaporator coil. When the moisture doesn t drain properly it can escape into the ducts and create mold. A refrigerant leak refrigerant is a special chemical used by your ac to absorb heat and warmth from the air inside your home. Most likely organic material has not been heated to a high enough temperature to prevent its growth.

Refrigerant is a colorless gas that often doesn t have an odor but when it does the smell is similar to that of sweet ethanol or nail polish remover. But sometimes due to wear and tear those copper coils can crack and let out some of the refrigerant. And if everything goes according to plan that refrigerant travels through closed copper coils. Birds and insects can nest or take refuge in your duct work and unfortunately get trapped in the equipment.

A foul or rotten air conditioner smell is usually the result of dead rodents or critters being stuck in the ac. The heat and cold air come into the cabin through the same ducts. Can t see any spills or leaks from the engine bay or on the ground. Also the window fogs up when the heater is on.

Another indicator of an indoor air quality problem is the smell of dirty socks. Freon usually travels through closed copper coils in an ac unit but these coils can crack and result in an ac coolant leak. When you turn on the air conditioner you may smell stale cigarette smoke. This is a characteristic and distinct smell which you surely cannot mistake for anything else.

Freon leaks can be toxic. All cars sold in the us have heater cores. Although this smell may be coming from the air conditioning unit it is not actually the unit that is the problem. A freon leak will produce a smell between sweet and chloroform.

Your air conditioner uses refrigerant to remove the heat from your home s warm air. Refrigerant travels through closed copper coils think of the coils as the ac s veins. When the air conditioning is running there is a lot of condensation within the unit. I think it s a heater core but there is no quote on your site to fix that specifically just upper or lower hoses.

This smelly stuff comes throught the defroster vents as well as the heater ducts but with the a c on it is diluted.