If you’re noticing a odor from your heat pump, it’s attempting 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 fix 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 probably mold growing on damp evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling frequent heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring issue
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical issue
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
Usually when you have a rotten egg smell, you have 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 All Weather Heating & Air Conditioning Inc [techs can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we mentioned earlier, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are linked 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 recommend 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 caused by melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical troubles in HVAC systems are dangerous 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 discussed above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need to be cleaned. You might experience this smell when your heat pump has defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to use 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 briefly switches to ac to get rid of the frost.
Having a All Weather Heating & Air Conditioning Inc HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the odor.
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 All Weather Heating & Air Conditioning Inc, so you can count on our experts to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in that you can rely on, call us at .