Funny Smell Coming from the A/C Air Vents

Not long ago, I found myself having to call the heating and cooling company.

I woke up one morning, and there was the strangest smell in the house.

I really couldn’t tell what the smell was. It kind of smelled like something burning, but then it also kind of smelled like pee. I thought maybe the dog had an accident in the house, so I was walking around all over the place smelling the carpet. When the a/c kicked in, I was standing near the a/c air vent, and that’s when I noticed it seemed to be coming from the a/c vents. It was the worst smell, and after I got a whiff of the a/c air, I thought it kind of smelled like garbage. I was clueless, really. I felt a little silly calling the a/c company, but the woman who answered the phone said it is not uncommon to hear this complaint at all. We set up an HVAC service call for the next day, and I took some time off work to meet the a/c guys. The first thing they did was check all the electrical connections in the thermostat and the whole HVAC system. They were all fine, but I was glad they checked because I didn’t want to have a fire. Then, they said it was best to look at the ductwork. In my house, the ductwork is under the house, so the poor guys crawled under there. Sure enough, they came back out and told me they suspected the strange smell was probably the result of an animal in the ductwork. They saw evidence of animals under the house and to them it looked like critters had been messing around with the ductwork under there. When I asked them what to do about it, they gave me a couple of options.

Furnace filter