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 fix 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 referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling routine heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. The Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring issue
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical issue
Electrical problems are serious, so shut your heat pump system off as soon as possible at the breaker box and call us at 916-591-6889 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Has a Rotten Egg Smell
Normally when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you’ve got a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t utilize natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a tiny animal may have creeped inside it for warmth and died. One of our Bishop’s HVAC experts can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. The Heat Pump Has a Sewage Smell
As we mentioned 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 advise calling a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Your Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
You might have an electrical problem 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 issues in HVAC systems are serious and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at 916-591-6889.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might notice this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to switch 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 shortly switches to ac to clear away the frost.
Having a Bishop’s HVAC HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Bishop’s HVAC, so you can count on our professionals to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Sacramento that you can depend on, call us at 916-591-6889.