If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s attempting to tell you that something is up. We’ve created a list of the most popular 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. The Heat Pump Smells Like Mold
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 referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can deter this by scheduling regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. The 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 unsafe, so turn your heat pump system off as soon as possible at the breaker box and contact us at 509-392-8770 for heat pump repair.
3. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Rotten Eggs
Usually when you have 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 Bigfoot Mechanical techs can eliminate the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. My Heat Pump Smells Like a Sewer
As we mentioned earlier, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak in another place. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We suggest contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. The 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 due to melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical issues in HVAC systems are serious and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and call us at 509-392-8770.
6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned earlier, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need cleaning. You might notice 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 impede heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump shortly switches to ac to clear away the frost.
Having a Bigfoot Mechanical HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the odor.
You can Count on Us for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at Bigfoot Mechanical, so you can count on our specialists to help you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Spokane that you can count on, call us at 509-392-8770.
