Anybody undertand ducts? Seriously! - GoFuckYourself.com

Mishi · 08-15-2004, 04:09 AM

Yeah, I know this is a weird question for GFY, but I figure there's no place else on the planet where I can access such a huge cross-section of people, one of whom MIGHT actually have an answer for me and not necessarily want to sell me something. So bear with me, please.

First off, I'm in Arizona. It's hot here.

So, about a month ago I started noticing a really foul odor in the office shortly after sundown. I figured it was some sort of night-blooming cactus or something (we smoke so we keep the window open). Long story short, before too long I figured out it wasn't just in the office, but throughout the house, and if I went outside, there was no trace of the odor.

I describe the smell as "sour", my partner says "feet". Whatever, it's very unpleasant.

So, last night we got a nice rainstorm and things cooled down, so I decided to do a little experiment. I shut down the AC and the fan. Come sundown: No odor. I've been up all night and not a hint of the nasty, evil smell. About 15 minutes ago I got sick of sweating and turned the AC back on. Guess what? Odor is back.

Okay, so obviously the problem is somewhere in the filter or the ducts. What I'm wondering is - why is it not a problem during the day? WTF would lay dormant all day, only to start stinking once the sun goes down? For the record, the house stays cool (relative to outside) during the day, and tends to heat up a bit come sundown. I have no clue why. I think demonic possession may be involved.

Anyway, them there's the facts. Hope one of the bright people here can give me a clue - otherwise I'll be faced with hiring some over-charging, feng-shui spouting nutcase, I'm sure.

But seriously...WTF?

DarkJedi · 08-15-2004, 04:13 AM

something died in your ducts

enter » · 08-15-2004, 04:15 AM

I would say you had something dead in there except for the sundown thing. That makes me think you may have something living in there that goes out and does it's thing looking for food or whatever during the day.

Check the outside of your house and the roof for any kind of access holes, especially the eaves and overhangs. If you find any plug it up and see if it comes back that night.

With all that said, I'm no expert and I could be way off but that's what I would do before I wasted money calling someone.

strats · 08-15-2004, 04:17 AM

yay!

you get to find a nice prize!

maggots, and a rotting carcass!

yay !

uchase/webpry · 08-15-2004, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mishi
But seriously...WTF?

... you mean, what the fuck ??

Mishi · 08-15-2004, 04:24 AM

Thanks all for the replies, I'm feeling much better. lol

Yeah, it's just weird. I mean if it smelled bad all the time it would make sense. Hell, if it smelled bad during the day, when it's hot, that would make sense, sort of. Maybe enter is right and there's some nasty troll living in the ducts, who wanders out during the day to forage for nuts and berries, then return home at night and, I dunno, farts a lot, or something.

Turned the fan back off but left the AC on. Currently my room smells fresh as a day in May. And a quick hand-test suggests the fan is off. There is something NASTY lurking up there. I think tomorrow, I'll make my partner (venturi) don a wetsuit and go exploring.

All hilarity aside, if anybody in the room has HVAC (proper acronym?) experience, I would love your input.

Mishi · 08-15-2004, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by uchase/webpry
... you mean, what the fuck ??

Why, yes, that is precisely what I mean!

Dirtypainter · 08-15-2004, 04:27 AM

It seems you have a mold problem in the ducts.

There is services that will come out and clean your ducts. Call them and have them cleaned out . Then call your heating and cooliing company and have them checkout the AC unit to make sure it is in proper working order IE: its drianing properly of all of is condensed water, The condensor is not clogged with dirt, The filter is clean. Have them clean the condensor with a bleach mixture to get rid of any mildew/Mold that may be present.

An no there isn't a noctural mold. The reason you can smell it basicly after sundown is because before sundown your A/C is working the hardest. And all the condensed water now has reached a level that is getting the mold wet.

Dirtypainter · 08-15-2004, 04:29 AM

Oh and btw This is something I do on a daily basis *S* as I do mold removal aswell as some other haz type work for a 40hr job.

Mishi · 08-15-2004, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dirtypainter
It seems you have a mold problem in the ducts.

There is services that will come out and clean your ducts. Call them and have them cleaned out . Then call your heating and cooliing company and have them checkout the AC unit to make sure it is in proper working order IE: its drianing properly of all of is condensed water, The condensor is not clogged with dirt, The filter is clean. Have them clean the condensor with a bleach mixture to get rid of any mildew/Mold that may be present.

An no there isn't a noctural mold. The reason you can smell it basicly after sundown is because before sundown your A/C is working the hardest. And all the condensed water now has reached a level that is getting the mold wet.

This is what I was looking for. And I got it in what, ten minutes? You know how long it would have taken me to get this kind of response if I'd gone to an "appropriate" forum for such a question?

Dirtypainter, I'm going to presume you know what you're talking about. This answer makes sense to me. Now, there's always a chance you're full of it and just messing with me, but that would be silly. Now I can call a service and sound like I have half a clue what I'm talking about. And if I'm wrong, they can laugh and laugh at me...but no more or less than they could have if I'd just gone in clueless.

Thank you. This really does make sense.

So, am I gonna, like, die soon if I don't do something about this? I'm not mold-paranoid by nature, but I watch the news, and I know that pretty much everything is out to kill me.

(In all seriousness, thanks for the reply.)

Mishi · 08-15-2004, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dirtypainter
Oh and btw This is something I do on a daily basis *S* as I do mold removal aswell as some other haz type work for a 40hr job.

Hehe, we cross-posted. You don't happen to be in AZ, do ya?

ETA - The unit has NOT been working properly for some time; in fact; it can't. It's a heat pump tied into duct work built for an evap cooler.

Not necessarily related, but we just recently had the unit brought in to working order (blown fuse, I think) after several months of it being offline. So I'm sure there are many, many issues involved. Oh, the joys of renting...

Dirtypainter · 08-15-2004, 04:45 AM

sorry Mishi nope not in the AZ area.

And no there is no immediate danger of dying. But mold is nothing to be taken lightly. As it can make you very sick. But if you get things cleaned up and maintain the cooling unit your problems will disappear.

The problem arises mainly because most ppl don't maintain the AC properly. As long as it keeps them cool they don't mess with it.

Dirtypainter · 08-15-2004, 04:48 AM

ahhhh cross posting got to love it.

yep have them go thru that AC top to bottom and tell the landlord to maintian his shit. hehehehehe and you should never have a problem again.

Mishi · 08-15-2004, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dirtypainter
ahhhh cross posting got to love it.

yep have them go thru that AC top to bottom and tell the landlord to maintian his shit. hehehehehe and you should never have a problem again.

Thanks so much - you basically confirmed what I suspected, but at least now I can contact the landlords without sounding like a total basket case. And I'm sure they'll recognize it's in their best interests to deal with the problem. ;) 'Cause landlords are just cool like that. Yay!

In all seriousness, I appreciate your response. There may be a stink-free future in store for me!

08-15-2004, 04:09 AM	#1
Mishi Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 1,054	Anybody undertand ducts? Seriously! Yeah, I know this is a weird question for GFY, but I figure there's no place else on the planet where I can access such a huge cross-section of people, one of whom MIGHT actually have an answer for me and not necessarily want to sell me something. So bear with me, please. First off, I'm in Arizona. It's hot here. So, about a month ago I started noticing a really foul odor in the office shortly after sundown. I figured it was some sort of night-blooming cactus or something (we smoke so we keep the window open). Long story short, before too long I figured out it wasn't just in the office, but throughout the house, and if I went outside, there was no trace of the odor. I describe the smell as "sour", my partner says "feet". Whatever, it's very unpleasant. So, last night we got a nice rainstorm and things cooled down, so I decided to do a little experiment. I shut down the AC and the fan. Come sundown: No odor. I've been up all night and not a hint of the nasty, evil smell. About 15 minutes ago I got sick of sweating and turned the AC back on. Guess what? Odor is back. Okay, so obviously the problem is somewhere in the filter or the ducts. What I'm wondering is - why is it not a problem during the day? WTF would lay dormant all day, only to start stinking once the sun goes down? For the record, the house stays cool (relative to outside) during the day, and tends to heat up a bit come sundown. I have no clue why. I think demonic possession may be involved. Anyway, them there's the facts. Hope one of the bright people here can give me a clue - otherwise I'll be faced with hiring some over-charging, feng-shui spouting nutcase, I'm sure. But seriously...WTF? __________________ Looking for PHP/MySQL solutions? Check out Cyboriginal - custom scripts, installation services and more.

08-15-2004, 04:15 AM	#3
enter » Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: -- arizona --» Posts: 2,362	I would say you had something dead in there except for the sundown thing. That makes me think you may have something living in there that goes out and does it's thing looking for food or whatever during the day. Check the outside of your house and the roof for any kind of access holes, especially the eaves and overhangs. If you find any plug it up and see if it comes back that night. With all that said, I'm no expert and I could be way off but that's what I would do before I wasted money calling someone. __________________ «-- offer extended through New Years (icq286487452)

08-15-2004, 04:24 AM	#6
Mishi Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 1,054	Thanks all for the replies, I'm feeling much better. lol Yeah, it's just weird. I mean if it smelled bad all the time it would make sense. Hell, if it smelled bad during the day, when it's hot, that would make sense, sort of. Maybe enter is right and there's some nasty troll living in the ducts, who wanders out during the day to forage for nuts and berries, then return home at night and, I dunno, farts a lot, or something. Turned the fan back off but left the AC on. Currently my room smells fresh as a day in May. And a quick hand-test suggests the fan is off. There is something NASTY lurking up there. I think tomorrow, I'll make my partner (venturi) don a wetsuit and go exploring. All hilarity aside, if anybody in the room has HVAC (proper acronym?) experience, I would love your input. __________________ Looking for PHP/MySQL solutions? Check out Cyboriginal - custom scripts, installation services and more.

08-15-2004, 04:27 AM	#8
Dirtypainter Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Boondocks, Iowa Posts: 425	It seems you have a mold problem in the ducts. There is services that will come out and clean your ducts. Call them and have them cleaned out . Then call your heating and cooliing company and have them checkout the AC unit to make sure it is in proper working order IE: its drianing properly of all of is condensed water, The condensor is not clogged with dirt, The filter is clean. Have them clean the condensor with a bleach mixture to get rid of any mildew/Mold that may be present. An no there isn't a noctural mold. The reason you can smell it basicly after sundown is because before sundown your A/C is working the hardest. And all the condensed water now has reached a level that is getting the mold wet. __________________ All Sweet Pussy

08-15-2004, 04:29 AM	#9
Dirtypainter Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Boondocks, Iowa Posts: 425	Oh and btw This is something I do on a daily basis S as I do mold removal aswell as some other haz type work for a 40hr job. __________________ All Sweet Pussy

08-15-2004, 04:13 AM	#2
DarkJedi No Refunds Issued. Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: GFY Posts: 28,300	something died in your ducts

08-15-2004, 04:17 AM	#4
strats Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,805	yay! you get to find a nice prize! maggots, and a rotting carcass! yay !

08-15-2004, 04:45 AM	#12
Dirtypainter Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Boondocks, Iowa Posts: 425	sorry Mishi nope not in the AZ area. And no there is no immediate danger of dying. But mold is nothing to be taken lightly. As it can make you very sick. But if you get things cleaned up and maintain the cooling unit your problems will disappear. The problem arises mainly because most ppl don't maintain the AC properly. As long as it keeps them cool they don't mess with it. __________________ All Sweet Pussy

08-15-2004, 04:48 AM	#13
Dirtypainter Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Boondocks, Iowa Posts: 425	ahhhh cross posting got to love it. yep have them go thru that AC top to bottom and tell the landlord to maintian his shit. hehehehehe and you should never have a problem again. __________________ All Sweet Pussy