If you’re recognizing a smell from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve developed a list of the most common 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. My Heat Pump Smells Like Mold
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s most likely mold growing on moist evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often referred to as dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. The Heat Pump Smells Fishy/Rotten
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be a few things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring problem
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical issue
Electrical problems are dangerous, so shut your heat pump system off as soon as possible at the breaker box and contact us at 832-263-1969 for heat pump repair.
3. The Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Often when you have a rotten egg smell, you have a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t utilize natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a tiny animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our 249 Air technicians can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Your Heat Pump Has a Sewage Smell
As we discussed above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are linked to a gas leak elsewhere. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might currently have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise getting in touch with a company that does sewer line repair.
5. My Heat Pump Has a Burnt Plastic/Rubber Smell
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 problems in HVAC systems are unsafe and could result in a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and contact us at 832-263-1969.
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we mentioned above, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need to be cleaned. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump is in 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 shortly switches to cooling to get rid of the frost.
Having a 249 Air HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the odor.
You can Count on Us for Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be confusing to troubleshoot your heat pump by alone. Your comfort matters to us at 249 Air, so you can count on our specialists to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in Houston that you can rely on, call us at 832-263-1969.