If you’re recognizing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is up. 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 probably mold growing on moist 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. My Heat Pump Smells Fishy/Rotten
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 problem
Electrical problems are unsafe, so shut your heat pump system off right away at the breaker box and get a hold of us at 818-306-3387 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Rotten Eggs
Often when you are dealing with 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 Verona HVAC technicians can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Smells Like Sewage
As we discussed above, 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 currently have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We recommend 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 the result of melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical troubles in HVAC systems are dangerous and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and get a hold of us at 818-306-3387.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might experience this smell when your heat pump has 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 quickly on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to cooling to remove the frost.
Having a Verona HVAC HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the odor.
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 Verona HVAC, so you can count on our specialists to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Santa Clarita that you can rely on, call us at 818-306-3387.