dirty sock smell/new baby--hazardous?

[texasbobbie]

last year we had a dirty sock smell after turning on our brand new Trane. We had someone clean the coil and it eventually went away. fast foreward a year and we now have a new baby and I am afraid to turn on the air conditioner. It is already 82 degrees in the house, but is that smell from something hazardous? don't really want to fry, but don't want to give my baby asthma or wosre. do I turn it on and see what happens or do I just assume that the smell will be back and call someone to clean the coil. also is there any non toxic cleaners for this or do I need to take the baby out for a few days? Any advice would be appreciated.

[GT Jets]

last year we had a dirty sock smell after turning on our brand new Trane. We had someone clean the coil and it eventually went away. fast foreward a year and we now have a new baby and I am afraid to turn on the air conditioner. It is already 82 degrees in the house, but is that smell from something hazardous? don't really want to fry, but don't want to give my baby asthma or wosre. do I turn it on and see what happens or do I just assume that the smell will be back and call someone to clean the coil. also is there any non toxic cleaners for this or do I need to take the baby out for a few days? Any advice would be appreciated.


I am an HVAC service tech, but not listed as a "pro" on the forums, if I were you the first thing I would do is to check to make sure the condensate drain is plumbed properly...Then, maybe just give a shot and see what happens...

There should be a P-trap at the evaporator coil and many time this dries out and needs to be primed, causing sewer gasses to be pulled into the air stream (providing the drain is piped to a sanitary drain) and you will get a nasty smell when the system first starts...A solution to this is to prime the trap with water...

I would not describe the smell you would have in this case as a "Dirty sock smell" LOL, but maybe...

Another thing to look for would be return air leaks, might be picking up something foreign if it runs in from a crawlspace or attic..

These are just preliminary things to check out, it may end up getting to the point of calling an environmental hygienist, but doubtful since it did it since new...

Hope this helps...

GT