Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a nightmare situation and could really use some advice. It seems there's a dead animal stuck somewhere in our air ducts, and the smell is driving me up the wall! When the HVAC is off, the stench is terrible, but surprisingly, it doesn't seem as bad when the fan or heater is running. I've had two HVAC companies take a look, and here's the rundown: the first one couldn't find anything and said the smell is likely just from dirt or mustiness, but I know what rotting flesh smells like. The second guy confirmed that there's definitely something dead in there; however, he didn't find it in the ducts or crawl space. He cautioned against rushing to repair the ducts without figuring out where the smell is exactly coming from. I've taped up all the vents, but the return still smells horrible. Is there any way this smell could be coming from under the house and moving through the furnace? I'm desperate enough to consider disconnecting the return to check. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!
1 Answer
Hey! It sounds like you might have a decomposing critter in your walls rather than the ducts themselves. I’ve had a similar experience at work; we cut into the walls to find the source, but spoiler alert: we never found the actual animal, and the smell eventually faded after a couple of years. I suggest you open the wall near where it smells the worst and look for the source. If that seems like too much hassle, just let the HVAC run for a while and see if that helps clear the air. Good luck!
That's wild; smell can linger for so long! Opening up the wall could be a real solution if it's localized.