Why Does My Heat Pump Make My House Smell Bad?

Without exception, if your heat pump begins emitting odors, some kind of trouble is afoot. Though all such odors are bad, each one has a specific cause that you will need to find and address. Here’s why your heat pump in Grovetown, GA, could make your house smell bad:

Ether

This odor is the easiest to explain because there can only be one explanation for it: a refrigerant leak. Refrigerant smells like ether, and nothing else that your heat pump uses shares this odor.

Though diagnosing this problem is simple, fixing it isn’t something homeowners should attempt. Refrigerant is dangerous, and you should never try to handle it on your own. As soon as you detect this smell, leave your home and allow HVAC service technicians to take care of everything.

Burning

Since your heat pump uses electricity, this smell should immediately raise suspicions that some of its electrical wiring may be frayed. You may smell burning rubber or plastic. Alternatively, if there is a great deal of dirt inside your heat pump, the system may start to smell like burning dust.

Once this smell arises, there’s a great risk that an electrical fire may ignite. For that reason, we recommend turning off your system and requesting professional assistance as quickly as possible.

Dirty Socks

This odor typically arises whenever your heat pump’s evaporator coils become too dirty. The winter weather may cause ice to coat your system’s coils, which will force it to enter defrost mode and restore the coils to a functional state. If there’s too much debris on the coils or the system languishes for too long in defrost mode, the smell of dirty socks may suddenly arise.

HVAC service technicians can clean away debris during a periodic tuneup. You may also need their help to remove the ice on the coils.

Never ignore the warnings that your nose picks up. Once you get a whiff of something strange, call Plunkett Heating & Air and request the most reputable heat pump services in Grovetown, GA.

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