If you’re noticing 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 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. Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s likely mold growing on wet evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often called dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling routine heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Overheated motor
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical issue
Electrical problems are serious, so shut your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and call us at 602-971-0567 for heat pump repair.
3. 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 little animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Integrity AC & Heating LLC [technicians can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we discussed before, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are linked to a gas leak elsewhere. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We recommend contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. 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 the result of melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical problems in HVAC systems are serious and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at 602-971-0567.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might experience this smell when your heat pump is in defrost mode.
It’s typical for your heat pump to have to turn on defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and interfere with heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to cooling to remove the frost.
Having a Integrity AC & Heating LLC HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.
Depend on for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at Integrity AC & Heating LLC, so you can count on our professionals to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Phoenix that you can depend on, call us at 602-971-0567.