If you’re noticing a odor from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve created a list of the most commonly encountered 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 Like Mold
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s most likely mold growing on wet evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often called dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling frequent heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. My 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 as soon as possible at the breaker box and call us at 540-675-4306 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Rotten Eggs
Often when you have a rotten egg smell, you’ve got 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 gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Childress Heating & AC experts can eliminate 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 be dealing with a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My 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 the result of melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical issues in HVAC systems are serious and could result in a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 540-675-4306.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s typical for your heat pump to have to use defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form quickly on the coils from condensation and impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to ac to remove the frost.
Having a Childress Heating & AC 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 all by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Childress Heating & AC, so you can count on our experts to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Fredericksburg that you can count on, call us at 540-675-4306.