If you’re noticing a odor 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 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. Your 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 known as dirty sock syndrome. You can prevent this by scheduling regular heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
• 2. Your Heat Pump Smells Fishy/Rotten
  If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
  • Motor is too hot
  • Wiring issue
  • Plastic components or coating is melting
  • Other mechanical problem

Electrical problems are unsafe, so shut your heat pump system off as soon as possible at the breaker box and call us at (209) 257-3156 for heat pump repair.

• 3. My Heat Pump Has a Rotten Egg Smell
  Often when you are dealing with a rotten egg smell, you’ve got a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t use natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a tiny animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our Tokay Heating & Air technicians can remove the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
• 4. The Heat Pump Smells Like Sewage
  As we discussed earlier, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are connected to a gas leak somewhere else. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might have a backed-up or broken sewer line. We recommend contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
• 5. Your Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
  You might be dealing with an electrical issue 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 cause a fire. If you notice this smell, turn off your heat pump at the breaker and get a hold of us at (209) 257-3156.
• 6. Why Your Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
  Like we mentioned previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need sanitizing. You might notice this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
  It’s ordinary for your heat pump to have to use defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much cooler, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to air conditioning to clear away the frost.

Having a Tokay Heating & Air HVAC technician clean the coils will help eliminate the smell.