Dirty Sock Syndrome

The cause of dirty sock syndrome is bacterial in nature. As I mentioned earlier, the problem occurs mostly in the southern portion of the U.S., however DSS is also a problem in the Midwest and has been reported even in Northern areas of the country. The issue occurs with central heating and air units that have a heat pump. Combine that with what seems to be a humid climate, and that is when dirty sock syndrome rears its ugly head. It only happens in the winter when the weather is cold outside and the heat pump has to kick on to defrost the evaporator coil. This heating of the coil somehow provides an opportunity for bacterial growth, which causes the smell. I personally have also noticed that the musky, gym locker room smell occurs more when we have had rainy weather.

What are some dirty sock syndrome solutions? I will start by saying that I'm not sure that there is an absolute solution. I believe if there was one that the manufactuers would have fixed it by now or maybe they don't want to put the research into fixing it since it only occurs in about 2% of hvac units in the US. The first solution is to clean the evaporator coil. This solution does work, however, this is only a temporary fix and the problem will surface again in a year or less. The next solution, which was suggested for my house, is to install a UV light. The UV light kills bacteria and thus preventing the smell. Another solution I have now seen is to have the evaporator coil covered in an anti-bacterial coating that prevents the growth.

I haven't been able to find any hard evidence that the situation is dangerous. However, that being said, I can't see how spreading bacteria through you house can be healthy for you. I see some companies on the internet telling about the dangers of spreading the "bacteria and mold", but they are also trying to sell you something. That needs to be taken in to consideration. Obviously if I find research that suggest that this could be more than just a potential health problem, I will update this section. I will say this, I would be concerned if you or a loved one is living with this problem and one of you have a suppressed immune system. I could easliy see then how this could potentially cause health problems.