If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is up. We’ve developed a list of the top 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 probably 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 regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be a few things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problems
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are unsafe, so shut your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and contact us at for heat pump repair.
3. Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you’re dealing with a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t run on natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a tiny animal may have crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our Willco Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating Inc. experts 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 connected to a gas leak elsewhere. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might be dealing with a backed-up or broken sewer line. We recommend contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might be dealing with an electrical concern 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 problems in HVAC systems are unsafe and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at .
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might experience this smell when your heat pump is in defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to switch on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form rapidly on the coils from condensation and interfere with heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump shortly switches to ac to get rid of the frost.
Having a Willco Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating Inc. HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the odor.
Depend on for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Willco Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating 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 .
