What’s That Smell Coming From My Heat Pump in Cathedral City, CA?

It can be jarring and unpleasant to have your heat pump suddenly release a strange smell into your Cathedral City, CA home. This becomes an especially pressing concern during the summer because such smells always point to some type of underlying trouble. Here’s some information about a few unusual heat pump smells and what they typically mean.

Dirty Laundry or Anything Musty

Odors of this kind frequently indicate that undesirable biological contaminants have begun growing on the inside of your heat pump system. This material will potentially emerge somewhere on your system’s evaporator coil because that is where condensation is most prone to gathering. To clean away this biological material and remove this smell, you should request professional HVAC maintenance services.

Chlorine or Ether

Refrigerant has a sweet, chlorine-like odor. When you detect this smell coming from your heat pump, it means that the system is leaking refrigerant. Since that substance is hazardous to breathe, you should immediately evacuate your home upon discovering its presence.

After that, call some HVAC technicians and ask them to stop the leak and refill your heat pump. Never attempt to do those things on your own.

Burning or Rotten Fish

These odors are especially awful, and they often have a common cause. If something goes wrong with your heat pump’s electrical wiring, causing a spark to ignite and a fire to start, or if the system’s motor or plastic components begin burning, you will probably notice these smells.

Trust your nose to help you detect trouble with your heat pump. As a family-owned and operated business, we understand the importance of keeping your household comfortable and safe. When something smells funny, call Palm Desert Air Conditioning and Heating Co. and sign up for our heat pump services near Cathedral City, CA.

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