Choosing a New Design for Your Home and Garden

During the peak of an Australian summer, your air conditioner is no doubt running at capacity trying to keep you and your family nice and cool. However, when foul smells start to waft out of your air conditioning vents, the unit gets switched off faster than you can say "yuck". Where is that smell coming from, and how could you have prevented it from occurring in the first place?

Stinky Feet Smell

When you turn on your air conditioner and the scent of smelly feet wafts through the air, chances are you'll be reaching for the off switch fast. When water doesn't drain away from the air conditioning unit properly, the water sits and stagnates. Not only does this cause the smelly feet odour, but stagnant water can also be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, so you want it gone fast.

The water in your air conditioner is not draining away because a buildup of debris is blocking the drainage line. Having your air conditioning unit maintained annually could have prevented this problem from occurring, as drainage pipes are looked at and cleaned during this inspection.

Mould And Mildew Smells

Another vile scent that can invade your home when water builds up in your air conditioning unit is the musty odour that lets you know you have mould or mildew growing inside your home. Mould and mildew spores can affect the breathing ability of the young, the elderly and also those with compromised respiratory systems.

There are two areas in your air conditioner that could be contributing to the mildew smell. Firstly, the clogged drain area means that there is excess moisture not being moved away. This moisture can be the beginning of mold growth when the summer heat warms up the area the moisture is located.

Second, excess moisture could be getting trapped in your filter. Your air conditioning filter should be changed monthly when it is under heavy load during the summer, and by doing this, you can avoid moisture from soaking into it and growing gunk.

Rotten Eggs Smell

If your air conditioning gives off the rotten egg stench, then there is the possibility that a rodent or another small creature has passed away in the air ducting. This could have been prevented in two ways by having your air conditioning unit regularly maintained:

1. The maintenance professional inspects all external parts of the air conditioning unit to make sure they are still sealed to keep critters out.
2. All air ducts are checked, and the animal's decomposing body would have been found and removed.

Regular maintenance of your air conditioning unit will make sure that the only thing you have to smell during summer is cool, fresh air and possibly something yummy cooking on the barbecue.