If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve put together 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 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 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 a couple of things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical problem
Electrical problems are serious, so shut your heat pump system off right away at the breaker box and contact us at 949-317-4175 for heat pump repair.
3. Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally when you smell a rotten egg smell, you’re dealing with 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 crawled inside it for warmth and died. One of our Ocean Air Conditioning and Heating [techs can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we mentioned earlier, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak elsewhere. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might be dealing with a backed-up or broken sewer line. We suggest contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might be dealing with 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 problems in HVAC systems are dangerous and could lead to a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 949-317-4175.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we talked about previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might notice this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s common for your heat pump to have to use defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and interfere with heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to air conditioning to remove the frost.
Having a Ocean Air Conditioning and Heating 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 Ocean Air Conditioning and Heating , so you can count on our professionals to assist you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Laguna Niguel that you can depend on, call us at 949-317-4175.