If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting 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. Your Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s likely mold growing on wet evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often called dirty sock syndrome. You can deter this by scheduling regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. My Heat Pump Smells Fishy/Rotten
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 difficulties
Electrical problems are serious, so shut your heat pump system off as soon as possible at the breaker box and get a hold of us at 816-249-1619 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally when you have 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 little animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Myers Furnace Company technicians can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Your 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 elsewhere. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise contacting 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 caused by melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical troubles in HVAC systems are unsafe and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 816-249-1619.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might experience this smell when your heat pump has 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 rapidly on the coils from condensation and impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to air conditioning to get rid of the frost.
Having a Myers Furnace Company 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 yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Myers Furnace Company, so you can count on our specialists to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Belton that you can depend on, call us at 816-249-1619.