Clean or change AC ducts to get rid of old house smell???

9 years ago

Hello. We are renovating a house that was built in 1976. It's not THAT old, but no one will help me in the Cooling and hearing forum.

The ACs are original to the house, but still working ok. The heat exchanger in one of the units needs replacing, but the brand of that unit is no longer in business, so we will prob have to change the whole unit in the near future. Our inspector that did inspection before purchase, our plumber, and An AC guy that came to take a look per our inspectors request, all said that within the next year we should go ahead and change both units - their parts in the attic as well as the outdoor parts -- I can't remember the proper names for these things. Basically, his quote was 10k to replace both units. However, his quote did not include new ducts.
I have a CRAZY sensitive nose. I have always been able to smell things that other people can't. It's a curse!

So I am VERY aware of the sweet sort of sour old house smell that exists in this house we just bought and are renovating. It smells like an old library book. I can't handle it, and I certainly can't handle the way it lingers in my clothes and hair after being in the house for several hours painting.

After pulling up ALL of the carpet, parquet, vinyl and tile as well as the cabinets, I thought for sure the smell would disappear. It didn't. After painting the walls, I thought it would go. It's still there.

So should I have the ducts cleaned Now even though we are going to wait on replacing the units? Or should I have the ducts completely replaced now? (I've heard that cleaning ducts isn't always successful with smells.). Or should we do both ducts and units now even though Wes prefer to run the units one more year to replenish our savings after this renovation depletes quite a bit of it.

what should i do to get rid of the smell? I don't want to waste money and do things backwards.

Thanks for ANY advice you may be able to provide me with!

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Comments (9)

lazy_gardens
9 years ago
One source for that musty smell is the drip pan under the refrigerator AND where condensate collects for the AC.

They get mold buildup.

Remove, clean, rinse with bleach/water solution, dry and put back.
sunnyca_gw
9 years ago
Were previous owners smokers? We redid a rental house & got new screens, 2 coats paint on each room, completely redid the kitchen, new cabinets, countertops, new appliances, light fixtures, etc. New floors & new carpet throughout. As we worked of course it was fall & had windows open. Right after realtor started showing the house to renters it got cold & we had to turn on heat, wow, did the house stink, we opened up that furnace door & it was dark dingy yellowed smoke, stale stink. so hours more of bleach water & cleaners before the place was pretty good. We added bowls of vinegar at night & hid them in the morning. by the time renters moved in it was pretty good. So try vinegar bowls where kids & critters can't get at them Open box of soda in closed in areas might help. Take a vent cover off & wipe out area of vent & rinse rag out in clean bowl of water, is it all brownish? Then it's probably the vents, if it is just dirty water with no smell that might not be it. I took a long skinny broom to couple of my vents a few times, got almost nothing out but I had gotten a high quality duck tape for attics & seams & so I guess nothing get in them to speak of. I have allergies big time, also clean out the area under furnace where air goes into to it from hall. I put a heavy piece of carpet pad that is covered with plastic on the floor under there & then wipe out couple of times a year by taking vent cover off. Of course no 1 smokes in my house but that area does get some dust. Yes fridge, freezers & humidifiers have drip pans that need cleaning or they can make you sick. Also if you have any drains that don't have water in the elbow sewer gas can come up & make you very sick, is there drain in center of basement floor- be sure to put gallon of water down it often or keep it covered, upstairs bathroom not used, get water in all the drains including tub or shower. Good Luck, Hope you find the problem soon.
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bridget helm
Original Author
9 years ago
thanks. there's no particular problem smell. it's not moldy. it's just old. the best way to describe it the inside of an old old library book.

all of the appliances have been taken out and will be replaced. i changed the two AC filters for the return air vents.

they weren't smokers, so that's good. it did get somewhat better after painting some of the rooms. the big 24x24 den with 11 foot ceilings has yet to be painted, so maybe when that's done, it will be even better. i hope that the installation of the new wood floors will make a difference too.

at some point i'll have the ducts cleaned out i guess. i've read mixed reviews on that. some people say it's a game changer while others say it does nothing.

what do you do with bowls of vinegar?
lazy_gardens
9 years ago
BEFORE you install the new wood floors, caulk any cracks in the subfloor, caulk around the edges, and PAINT the floor with a decent quality primer or stain/odor blocker.

Sometimes the odor is in the subfloor wood.
greg_2010
9 years ago
If it's a smell that no one else notices, don't worry about it. Once you move in and have lived there for a week, you won't notice it anymore either.
There are people that live next door to mushroom farms and that stinks!! After a while, they don't notice it anymore. However, in that case, everyone else they encounter notices the smell on their clothes, but that won't be a problem in your case. :)
toxcrusadr
9 years ago
I would think all that paint would smell far worse. Sounds like you have changed the furnace filter(s). I'm guessing dust and mold in the ducts. They do get coated with a layer of dusty stuff. I've never had mine cleaned. You can get DIY kits, don't know how well they work.
HU-670850762
last month
I know this is an old post but I'm experiencing a similar problem. Did you clean the ducts?
3onthetree
last month
Seldom do dirty ducts (dry dust collected over time) lead to an overall house smell defined as musty or moldy.

Usually, cleaning the evaporator coil, and with that the pan underneath, can solve a musty smell when the a/c turns on.
Stax
last month
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned#deciding