If you’re recognizing a smell from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is up. We’ve put together a list of the most popular six heat pump smells, what causes them and how you can correct them.
- Heat pump smells musty
- Heat pump smells like fish
- Heat pump smells like sulfur
- Heat pump smells like sewer
- Heat pump smells like burning
- Heat pump defrost cycle smells
1. Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s likely mold growing on moist evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often called dirty sock syndrome. You can deter this by scheduling routine heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be a couple of things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are serious, so turn your heat pump system off right away at the breaker box and get a hold of us at for heat pump repair.
3. Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you have a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t run on natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a small animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Air Commander's Heating & Air Conditioning Co. technicians can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we mentioned above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak in another place. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise getting in touch with a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might be dealing with an electrical issue if your heat pump smells like burning, burning plastic or burning rubber. This burning smell can be due to melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical issues in HVAC systems are unsafe and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and get a hold of us at .
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump has defrost mode.
It’s typical for your heat pump to have to use defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form quickly on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump briefly switches to ac to remove the frost.
Having a Air Commander's Heating & Air Conditioning Co. HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the odor.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Air Commander's Heating & Air Conditioning Co., so you can count on our professionals to help you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in that you can rely on, call us at .