Why do I see a black soot buildup on the bathtub walls and the warm air from furnace vents has a burnt smell ?

Question

I suspect my older furnace is the cause of the problem. I live in Northern Ohio and my home and furnace are 55 years old.

Answer 1

Hi, I used to work in Air-conditioning and Refrigeration and the burning smell is probably caused by dust that builds up in the vents through out the years. The dust is burnt off every time you start the furnace, or electric heat for Air-conditioning units.
The black soot on the wall is more than likely the burnt dust as it is blown through the vents.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

cracked heat exchanger most likely.
and or you have a terrible service guy coming to maintain your system
55 years old = inefficiency. don't fix one thing to see the next one fail; change it out to gas if possible you can get 90+ efficiency

that means you'll be getting .90 to .94 cents out of every dollar going towards actual usable heat and throwing away only .06 to .10 cents
your running at about .50 to .60 on yours
the savings from changing it can be re-cooped with in 5 years max

Answer 3

call your oil or gas company for a furnace tune-up and replace the filter.be careful the soot build up can cause a fire internally.

Answer 4

Hot air rises, so the cold air return should be at floor level. When you turn on your AC, THEN you need vents up high to catch the hot air. you should open and close vents with the season

Answer 5

if it,s a oil furnace it may have a hole in the fire box. If it,s that old a new furnace would be a good idea it would pay for itself in savings

Answer 6

Sounds like it needs a good cleaning by a pro. Don't wait it sounds very dangerous

Answer 7

that is mold