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 top 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. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Mold
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 called dirty sock syndrome. You can deter this by scheduling routine heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Your Heat Pump Has a Fishy Smell
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be a few things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring issue
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are dangerous, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and get a hold of us at 662-269-8716 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Has a Rotten Egg Smell
Normally when you have a rotten egg smell, you’re dealing with a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t utilize natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a tiny animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Booneville Heating & Cooling experts can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Has a Sewage Smell
As we mentioned above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are linked 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 suggest contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
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 problems 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 662-269-8716.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need to be cleaned. You might notice this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to switch on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump shortly switches to cooling to clear away the frost.
Having a Booneville Heating & Cooling HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of 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 Booneville Heating & Cooling, so you can count on our professionals to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Booneville that you can count on, call us at 662-269-8716.
