If you’re discovering a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve developed a list of the most popular 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 Like Mold
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s probably mold growing on moist evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often called dirty sock syndrome. You can deter 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 a few things wrong:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring problems
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are unsafe, so shut your heat pump system off right away at the breaker box and contact us at 949-762-8644 for heat pump repair.
3. My Heat Pump Has a Rotten Egg Smell
Usually when you have a rotten egg smell, you have 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 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning techs can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Has a Sewage Smell
As we mentioned 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 be dealing with a backed-up or broken sewer line. We recommend contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
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 problems in HVAC systems are unsafe and could result in a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 949-762-8644.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need to be cleaned. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump has defrost mode.
It’s typical for your heat pump to have to use defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to cooling to clear away the frost.
Having a 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the smell.
You can Count on Us for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be hard to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, so you can count on our experts to help you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Mission Viejo that you can count on, call us at 949-762-8644.