When you turn on your air conditioning unit for the first time, it may smell a little off. After you run your air conditioning unit a couple of times, the air shouldn't really have an odor. If you notice that your air conditioning unit is producing a really strange smell, you need to call in an air conditioning repair technician to help you.

Reason #1: Moisture in Air Vents

The air coming out of your vents may smell funny because there is moisture in your air vents. You should not have lots of moisture in your air vents. When moisture builds in your air vents, mold and mildew often follow, enhancing the poor smell from your vents.

Moisture doesn't just accumulate in your vents for no reason. Moisture in your air vents is caused usually by a drainage leak or high humidity levels. A trained AC technician will be able to determine which is the cause and fix the issue. The technician can fix the drainage leak or install a whole-house dehumidifier.

Reason #2: Evaporator Coils That Froze Over

The evaporator coils on your air conditioning unit play an important role in helping to cool the air that flows through your home. Your air conditioning unit pulls in cool air, and then removed the moisture from the air, before cooling it off and pumping that air back through your home.

When the air filters get clogged with dirt, the moisture from the air isn't pulled out correctly. Instead, the moisture collects on the evaporator coils. This can cause the evaporator coils to freeze over, which can change the way the air smells.

In order to fix this issue, you will need a technician to change out the air filters, and to fix the frozen evaporator coils in order to get your air conditioner working correctly.

Reason #3: Dysfunctional Drain Pan

Another reason why your air conditioner may smell funny is that the drain pan is not working correctly. The drain pan is designed to catch excess moisture from your unit into the drip pan. When the drip pan gets worn down and stops working correctly, mold may accumulate in the drip pan. The mold in the drip pan can actually cause the air in your HVAC system to smell bad. In this case, you are going to want to have the drip pan replaced by a qualified AC technician.

If your air conditioner is smelling funny after you run it more than a few times, there is something wrong with your air conditioner. You may have moisture in your air vents, a frozen evaporator coil, or a damaged drain pain.

Contact a local expert for any questions you might have about your air conditioning repair.