# Cigarette smoke smell being blown into house from furnace



## bpkl75 (Mar 13, 2012)

A customer is complaining of a cigarette smoke smell coming from the furnace and blowing through the registers into the house thats one year old. He doesnt smoke and doesnt have any friends over that smoke. He has a MEV 13 filter and its not helping at all. The only thing I could could find wrong with the furnace was the return duct wasnt sealed to the drywall in garage (it was sucking some air directly from the garage as well as the house). Anybody hear or see anything like this? The only thing I can think of is its pulling the smell from the unfinished drywall in the garage which has remnates of the smoke smell left from the builders.


----------



## Doc Holliday (Jan 2, 2012)

Is this the first time he's run the furnace for any length of time? it could very well just be the oil residue from the heat exchanger burning off. If makes a funky smell but burns off after a few cycles, maybe a day of full cycling in heating mode on new gas furnaces.

Other than that I'd suspect you're on the right track, the only way for a smell to be distributed through a system is it has to be sucked up into it first.


----------



## Edward12 (Apr 22, 2012)

Someone sneaking smokes in the garage? Seems that if the furnace is brand new, Doc got this one. Have to seal that ducting up though. There may be carbon monoxide from engines, fumes from combustible liquids, or toxins from chemicals.


----------



## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

I build close to 60 homes and I never heard that sheetrock theory. If this is a new house, and the furnace only had a few runs, like someone said this could be the burn off from the new furnace and this don't smell like the cigarette smoke, nothing close to it. 
If nobody smokes in the house, and HO don't have kids who sneak in the basement to smoke cigarettes or weed, the HO should have his nose examined.


----------



## sherrodsmith28 (9 mo ago)

greg24k said:


> I build close to 60 homes and I never heard that sheetrock theory. If this is a new house, and the furnace only had a few runs, like someone said this could be the burn off from the new furnace and this don't smell like the cigarette smoke, nothing close to it.
> If nobody smokes in the house, and HO don't have kids who sneak in the basement to smoke cigarettes or weed, the HO should have his nose examined.


I'm afraid not. New home owner with same issue. Yes burn off does not smell like cigarette smoke. And I know what that smells like.


----------



## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

sherrodsmith28 said:


> I'm afraid not. New home owner with same issue. Yes burn off does not smell like cigarette smoke. And I know what that smells like.


10 year old thread and if you're not a contractor This site is for professional contractors visit DIY Home Improvement Forum


----------

