If you’re recognizing a odor from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve developed a list of the top 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. My Heat Pump Has a Musty Smell
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 regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Your Heat Pump Smells Fishy/Rotten
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problems
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical problem
Electrical problems are unsafe, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and get a hold of us at 520-415-5681 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Has a Rotten Egg Smell
Often when you smell 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 small animal may have crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our Arizona Comfort Systems technicians can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Has a Sewage Smell
As we discussed before, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are connected to a gas leak somewhere else. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might currently have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We recommend calling a company that does sewer line repair.
5. The Heat Pump Smells Burnt
You might have 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 issues in HVAC systems are unsafe and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and get a hold of us at 520-415-5681.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about previously, 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 ordinary for your heat pump to have to turn on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form quickly on the coils from condensation and interfere with heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to ac to get rid of the frost.
Having a Arizona Comfort Systems HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be hard to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Arizona Comfort Systems, so you can count on our professionals to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Sierra Vista that you can depend on, call us at 520-415-5681.