If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is up. We’ve created a list of the most common 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. Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s likely 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 routine heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical issue
Electrical problems are dangerous, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and call us at 239-244-3439 for heat pump repair.
3. Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Usually when you smell a rotten egg smell, you have a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t use natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a little animal may have crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our Speedy Air Conditioning [technicians can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we discussed before, 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 have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We suggest 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 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 call us at 239-244-3439.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might notice this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to turn on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to cooling to remove 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 difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Speedy Air Conditioning, so you can count on our professionals to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Naples that you can depend on, call us at 239-244-3439.