If you’re recognizing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve put together 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. The Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s most likely 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 frequent heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. My Heat Pump Smells Fishy/Rotten
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical problem
Electrical problems are dangerous, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and get a hold of us at 239-244-3439 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Rotten Eggs
Usually when you have a rotten egg smell, you’re dealing with a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t use natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a little animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Speedy Air Conditioning technicians can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Sewage
As we discussed above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak somewhere else. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might currently have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Your Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
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 due to melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical issues in HVAC systems are unsafe and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 239-244-3439.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might notice this smell when your heat pump is in defrost mode.
It’s ordinary for your heat pump to have to turn on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form rapidly on the coils from condensation and impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump shortly switches to air conditioning to clear away the frost.
Having a Speedy Air Conditioning 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 Speedy Air Conditioning, so you can count on our professionals to help you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Naples that you can depend on, call us at 239-244-3439.
