If you’re recognizing a odor from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is up. We’ve created a list of the most commonly encountered six heat pump smells, what causes them and how you can repair 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 most likely mold growing on moist evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often known as 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:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring problems
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are serious, so shut 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
Usually when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you’re dealing with a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t use natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a tiny animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Cooks Air Conditioning and Heating Specialists [techs can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we reviewed before, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are connected 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 suggest getting in touch with a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might have 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 troubles in HVAC systems are serious and could result in a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at .
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might notice this smell when your heat pump is in defrost mode.
It’s typical for your heat pump to have to turn on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to air conditioning to get rid of the frost.
Having a Cooks Air Conditioning and Heating Specialists HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.
Depend on for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be hard to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Cooks Air Conditioning and Heating Specialists, so you can count on our experts to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in that you can rely on, call us at .