If you’re recognizing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve created a list of the top 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 Has a Musty Smell
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s most likely mold growing on moist evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often called dirty sock syndrome. You can prevent 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 couple of things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problems
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are dangerous, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and call us at 561-287-7071 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally when you smell a rotten egg smell, you’ve got a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t utilize natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a small animal may have crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our Kilbourne Heating & AC experts can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Smells Like Sewage
As we reviewed before, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are linked 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 recommend getting in touch with a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My Heat Pump Smells Burnt
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 caused by melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical issues in HVAC systems are dangerous and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 561-287-7071.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might notice this smell when your heat pump is in defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to switch on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form rapidly on the coils from condensation and impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump briefly switches to cooling to remove the frost.
Having a Kilbourne Heating & AC HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.
You can Count on Us for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Kilbourne Heating & AC, so you can count on our professionals to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Delray Beach that you can count on, call us at 561-287-7071.