If you’re recognizing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is up. We’ve created 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 Has a Musty Smell
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s probably mold growing on damp evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can prevent this by scheduling routine 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 couple of things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical problem
Electrical problems are serious, so shut your heat pump system off right away at the breaker box and call us at 561-270-6228 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Usually when you smell a rotten egg smell, you’ve got a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t use natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a little animal may have crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our A2Z Air Inc technicians can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. The 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 suggest getting in touch with a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
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 troubles in HVAC systems are unsafe and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at 561-270-6228.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might notice this smell when your heat pump is in 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 rapidly on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump shortly switches to air conditioning to get rid of the frost.
Having a A2Z Air Inc HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the smell.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at A2Z Air Inc, so you can count on our experts to help you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Boynton Beach that you can depend on, call us at 561-270-6228.
