If you’re discovering a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve put together a list of the most common six heat pump smells, what causes them and how you can repair 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 moist evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often known as dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling routine 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:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical problem
Electrical problems are dangerous, so shut your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and call us at 270-358-3167 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally 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 small animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Phelps Heating & Cooling, Inc. experts can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Smells Like a Sewer
As we discussed above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are connected to a gas leak in another place. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might be dealing with a backed-up or broken sewer line. We suggest contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might be dealing with an electrical concern 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 troubles in HVAC systems are dangerous and could result in a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and get a hold of us at 270-358-3167.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might notice this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s typical for your heat pump to have to switch on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, 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 Phelps Heating & Cooling, Inc. HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Phelps Heating & Cooling, Inc., so you can count on our specialists to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Hodgenville that you can count on, call us at 270-358-3167.
