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I'm a little annoyed right now. What I assumed was just a regular musty smell throughout the house due to it being unoccupied for over a year appears to be coming from the A/C vents. They've been on for over a month now (I had to harass the selling broker about this), so I don't think this qualifies for what I was reading about "dirty sock syndrome." Yes, it smells lke musty, mildew.. but this is a constant smell, not just a turn it on, and it happens for a while. If the A/C is running, the smell exudes from the vents.
We're going to have to call a service guy to come look at it, but any idea what could be the cause of it, and if so, how much it would take to fix? Trying to budget for certain things, and while I realize things are regional, a ballpark figure would be nice. If we could fix it ourselves it would be better LOL.
Hard to say without seeing the home. I have heard of some units that have had bad smells come from the condensate drain line incorrectly tied to the home's sewage drain without a trap. My mobile home condensate drain was a straight pipe to under the mobile home which caused some air from under the home to be sucked into the unit after the air filter. Quick easy fix was to install a hose and trap combination leading to out from under the trailer. Have you taken a look at the condition of your evaporator coils and condensate drain pan? The pan and coils can be easy to clean if they're easy to reach. If the smell is coming from the vents then you may have condensation forming in the ducts and this cool dark enviroment is perfect breeding ground for growth. If this is happening then there are various reasons this can occur including poor duct insulation, air leak in ducts, etc.
Sounds like the evaporator coil needs to be cleaned thoroughly. It probably has some growth on it. It shouldn't be hard to tell if it's dirty if you'll just cut the power at the breakers and go to where the air handler is and open it up, it has access panels. If it's appears to be clean, on the side closest to the filter, then make sure it has a p-trap. If it has a p-trap make sure it's angled slightly downward and then prime it by pouring water in it until it comes out the discharge end. If this is a package unit you may just want to call a service company and have preventive maintenance done on it.
If this solves your issue make sure you occasionally run just the fan to dry everything in the air handler and ducts out so it doesn't stay wet and become a good home for growths.
Since the house sat empty for a year, you probably need to have the duct work cleaned. It'll cost you a few hundred dollars, but it's not something you can do yourself very easily because you don't have the tools.
We try to change our filters once a month but somehow, we forgot and it's been quite a while. The thing is that they hardly have an dirt on them at all even though it's been + 2 months. Other homes we've lived in, the filters were filthy after a month's time. Is there something wrong with our system if the filters are clean and show very little debris even after heavy usage? Even in the winter, the filters have not been durty when it comes time to change them.
Sounds like air is bypassing the filter. Look for leaks around where the filter goes in. Also is it missing any smaller panels or anything on the air handler? Does it have large holes not filled or covered by conduit or tape?
Nothing looks out of the ordinary. The thing is we have two units. One in the basement for the heater/ air conditioner and one in the attic for the heat pump. Same thing applies to both units. The filters hardly get dirty.
Is this something we should be concerned about? The home is 3 years old.
The condensing unit is in the attic and the air handler in the basement?
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HVAC filter question
