DETECTING FISH ODORS IN YOUR Habitation OR Air conditioning DUCTS???

People sometimes study detecting fishy odors or dead fish smells in their home or AC unit of measurement or Ac ducts. These conditions tin easily remain a mystery for weeks, months, or even years, before the mystery is solved and the cause of fish odors in homes is understood.

  • Sometimes the source is overheating electrical components that can be a serious burn down hazard. This event is the principal focus of this article. We discuss this possibility in more particular further down in this article. So keep reading information technology may salvage your property and your life!!!
  • Other times the source may exist mold in the Air-conditioning unit. Mold growing within Air-conditioning ducts or inside Ac units does not produce a fish odor in many people's stance, merely some people perceive a moldy odour in the ducts and mistake it for a fish smell coming out of the ducts. If the source is in fact mold contagion in the HVAC (heating ventilation and Air conditioning Organisation) so the solution would be to have the system cleaned by a professional person AC contractor who specializes in AC and duct cleaning and who follows NADCA standards.
    NADCS stands for National Air Duct Cleaners Association. In addition ane or ii UV lights installed in the Ac system can be instrumental in deterring the return of "fishy smelling" mold in your AC ducts or air handler. I have recommended these devices to hundreds of clients over my years as an air quality consultant.

UV Lights like this one offered past Amazon can forbid the growth of mold and bacteria wherever the lite shines inside your Air conditioning unit of measurement. Thus preventing some cases of musty or moldy odors before they get-go in Ac units.

  • Other times the fishy aroma may be brackish musty air that can be mis-identified by some people every bit a fishy smell. This can often be cleared upwards with adept housekeeping, the introduction of clean dry outdoor air, and the use of a good quality air purifier like an Austin Air Filter.

A proficient air purifier like this one offered on Amazon may gainsay mild fish odors. Even with an air purifier y'all must detect the root cause of fish odors in your home or in your ducts. Don't just get a air purifier without addressing the existent problem.

The True Source Revealed!

Though all the above scenarios do in fact crusade unusual and foul odors that are sometimes mistaken for fish odors they are typically non the source or a true fish odor. Going down the wrong path when investigating such an issue tin be very unsafe if the cause of fish smell in your home is overheating electrical system components. The odor is not always acquired by, but is oftentimes caused by an overheating electrical component such as an overheating low-cal socket, outlet, or electric breaker panel.

Typical breaker panel with bakelite breakers

Electrical breakers, outlets, light switches, sockets, and some other plastic type electric components are made of Bakelite. Bakelite or polyoxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride (yes that is a existent discussion I did not make that up) was the start plastic fabricated from constructed materials. It is a very hard plastic created in 1907 by chemist Leo Baekeland and is useful because of information technology's resistance to conducting electricity, and it's resistance to overheating. This plastic is a type of phenol formaldehyde resin. Such substances are a synthetic polymer made from a mixture of formaldehyde and phenols. Though it has a loftier resistance to melting, it does have it'due south limitations, it tin can overheat.

When the material overheats it releases amines. These amine chemicals are really what produces that fish odor. It is interesting to note that it is non simply a figment of our imaginations that this amine smells like dead fish. Amine is the chemical that causes fish odor in overheating electrical components, and trimethylamine a type of amine is the specific amine that is the cause of true dead fish odor from actual dead fish!

Bakelite light socket.

Bakelite light sockets in lamps and other locations can release fish odors if they overheat.

It takes a lot of heat to visually damage the bakelite plastic that breakers, calorie-free switches, and light sockets, are fabricated of. Much aroma tin exist produced long earlier you notice any heat damage.

Why Do Mysterious Odors Often Disappear And so Reappear Minutes Or Hours Later?

i)  Typically, the reason for fish odors appearing and disappearing in homes is considering the overheating electrical component is eventually turned of and cools downwardly and slowly the smell dissipates. When the power to the device is back on it heats up again and the dead fish smell production starts upward all over again.

2) Another common reason that fish odors, and other building odors sometimes appear and disappear is your Air-conditioning organisation. If your AC return (filter area) is near the source of aroma it will pull the smell into the AC system and distribute it to other areas of the dwelling house. Air distribution via an AC unit of measurement may cause scent to be diluted and disappear, or it may cause it to be blown into your confront and thus get more obvious and seem to suddenly appear from nowhere.

Ii Case Studies

  • In 2022 I did an investigation for a homeowner complaining of dead animal odor. Later inspecting the clients West Palm Beach habitation, I establish that the odor smelled similar dead fish and it was coming from an overheating breaker mounted on the Air conditioning unit in her garage. Some of the odor was released into the garage, and some was released back into the interior of the Air-conditioning unit of measurement that the billow was mounted on. The Air-conditioning and then pulled the smell to the master bedroom on the other side of the abode.
  • During an air quality investigation,  I was hired to await for  the source of fishy smells in a trailer home N of Vero Beach. The odors source (an overheating breaker panel) produced a constant stream of odour. Nevertheless, the Air-conditioning unit of measurement caused the fish odor to be more noticeable whenever the AC kicked on. The same aroma would disappear when the Ac was off. The AC did this because the Air-conditioning return pulled the evil-smelling air out of the nearby wall mounted breaker console and distributed this smell to the rest of the property where information technology could be smelled. When the Ac was off the smell lingered in the and virtually the panel. In both the above cases I was able to ostend that the console was overheating with an IR camera and I recommended an electrician brand the required repairs.

I other possibility is that some people fault moldy odors in Air-conditioning units for fish odors. If you lot notice fish odors bravado out of your ducts information technology may be overheating electrical components, or mold odors from your Air-conditioning or ducts. If it appears this may exist the problem have a non bias mold inspector check for mold in your ducts.

The smells may exist due to something as simple as a fish jumping out of and dying behind your aquarium. Fish odors may also be due to mold in your ducts, or information technology may exist due to some other bizarre unexplained phenomena, only do not bet on it. When you lot detect fish smells please consider the fact that information technology may very well be the effect of chemicals released as a result of overheating plastic components in an electrical device.

What Do I Do Now?

Consult a licensed electrician immediately, it is best to obtain the services of an electrician who is certified in the use of infrared thermography. The reason for the use of an IR photographic camera is that IR cameras can aid track downward rut sources. On most IR cameras the hotter a surface information technology the brighter cerise it appears on the cameras brandish screen. Hire an electrician you trust. You can have electricians verify the condition past showing yous the screen and the temperature readings on it, you can besides become more than one opinion. Unfortunately, most inspectors including electric inspectors are not familiar with this condition then you lot will have to exist cautious when choosing someone to bear such inspections.

If the source is electric and so corrective measures are of the upmost importance because overheating electrical components are the number one cause of home house fires in America. When overheating electrical components are found to exist the source of problem then have any and all required repairs made as shortly as possible past a qualified licensed electrician. When the source of overheating is an electric component you must keep in heed the fact that like components of a like historic period may be used in more than 1 location in the building. Consider the possibility that the other similar components may now, or in the near future be experiencing the aforementioned bug in other areas of the building and you must deed appropriately.

Never buy an air purifier without getting to the roof of your fish odor problem. It may exist mold in your AC and ducts. Information technology may be overheating electric components. Deal with such bug and use a air purifier every bit a supplemental mode to amend overall indoor air quality.

This data is provided by Daryl Watters of A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc. We provide mold testing and indoor air quality investigations in South Florida.