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 popular 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. The Heat Pump Has a Musty Smell
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 avoid this by scheduling regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring issue
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are serious, so shut your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and call us at 662-269-8716 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Rotten Eggs
Usually when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you have a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t run on natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a small animal may have crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our Booneville Heating & Cooling experts can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Smells Like Sewage
As we discussed earlier, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak in another place. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might currently have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We suggest contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might have an electrical concern 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 dangerous and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 662-269-8716.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned 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 quickly on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump briefly switches to air conditioning to get rid of the frost.
Having a Booneville Heating & Cooling HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the smell.
You can Count on Us for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be hard to troubleshoot your heat pump by all by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Booneville Heating & Cooling, so you can count on our specialists to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Booneville that you can rely on, call us at 662-269-8716.
