If you’re discovering a odor from your heat pump, it’s trying 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. The Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s probably mold growing on wet evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can prevent this by scheduling frequent 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 serious, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and contact us at 509-284-4265 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Rotten Eggs
Often when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you have a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t run on natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a little animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Lakeside Heating & Air technicians can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My 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 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. My Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
You might be dealing with an electrical issue 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 problems in HVAC systems are unsafe and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 509-284-4265.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to turn 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 cooling to clear away the frost.
Having a Lakeside Heating & Air HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the odor.
Depend on for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Lakeside Heating & Air, so you can count on our experts to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Chelan and Wenatchee that you can depend on, call us at 509-284-4265.
