AC smell

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TaskBoy

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I have a funky smell coming from a few registers. It's a stinky smell--like piss or barf or maybe a tad mildewy but my wife says it doesn't smell like mildew to her. Nonetheless, it's stinky. The strongest is in our upstairs master bath which is 12-15 feet west of the FAU. The next area of smell is my daughter's room which is also 12-15 feet away south and upstairs as well. A couple other upstairs rooms get it but not as bad. I don't think we smell it anywhere downstairs. The smell weakens and goes away after 15-30 minutes. It's only at start up, too. Been going on a couple months.

I changed the filter but that didn't help. Is there water pooling somewhere? Or is there a dead animal in or near a duct? Your thoughts? Thanks!
 
Sounds like the condensate drain is plugged.
Your smelling bacteria laden condensate accumulating near the evaporator coils and is being picked up and distributed throughout the home via air ducts.
Unclog the condensate drain and maybe pour some bleach over the evaporator coils. They do make bacteria-stat products to prevent the growth of mold/bacteria (similar to a console style humidifier).
 
Good first place to check for sure. ^^^^

How long has it been going on? A dead animal only smells for a month or so depending on its size.
 

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