If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is up. We’ve developed a list of the most common 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. My Heat Pump Has a Musty Smell
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s likely mold growing on damp evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often known as dirty sock syndrome. You can deter this by scheduling routine heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. The Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
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 problem
Electrical problems are unsafe, so shut your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and get a hold of us at 203-357-5913 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Has a Rotten Egg Smell
Often when you smell 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 small animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Central Air LLC techs can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Your Heat Pump Smells Like a Sewer
As we reviewed above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak elsewhere. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might currently have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise calling a company that does sewer line repair.
5. The Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
You might have 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 issues in HVAC systems are dangerous and could result in a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at 203-357-5913.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might experience this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s ordinary for your heat pump to have to turn on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form rapidly on the coils from condensation and interfere with heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to air conditioning to remove the frost.
Having a Central Air LLC HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the odor.
Depend on for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Central Air LLC, so you can count on our specialists to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Brookfield that you can count on, call us at 203-357-5913.