If you’re discovering a odor from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve developed a list of the most common 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 probably mold growing on wet evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can prevent 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 couple of things wrong:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring problems
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are unsafe, so turn your heat pump system off as soon as possible at the breaker box and call 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 creeped inside it for warmth and died. One of our Gee & Missler Heating & Air Conditioning technicians can get rid of 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 in another place. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might be dealing with 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 problem if your heat pump smells like burning, burning plastic or burning rubber. This burning smell can be the result of melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical issues in HVAC systems are serious and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at .
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s ordinary 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 restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump shortly switches to ac to clear away the frost.
Having a Gee & Missler Heating & Air Conditioning HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the odor.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Gee & Missler Heating & Air Conditioning, so you can count on our experts to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in that you can count on, call us at .
