Heatpump musty smell - DIY service or professional?

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Wolf555

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#279548 22-Oct-2020 15:03

Have a heatpump that's about 2 years old and suddenly it creates an odd musty smell when turned on.

I've cleaned the filter which hasn't helped but I'm wondering what part of the unit, or a service, would actually help with removing the smell and is it something I can do myself? I've seen quotes for around $150 which seems expensive when most of what they advertise doing is cleaning the filter, but obviously I'm missing something if a service can fix the smell?

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#2590272 22-Oct-2020 15:36

A good heat pump clean uses a disinfectant spray and wash to thoroughly clean the heat pump inside unit fins. They need to take the covers off for this, which you can't / shouldn't do yourself. Some places probably just clean the filter which you can do yourself, so you need a good place and ask for a deep clean and tell them why. I can recommend Wasabi in Wellington, not the cheapest generally but they did a really thorough job.

RunningMan

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#2590287 22-Oct-2020 15:56

Try this https://www.supercell.co.nz/collections/hvac-cleaners or here https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747

Yoban

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#2590302 22-Oct-2020 16:11

RunningMan:

Try this https://www.supercell.co.nz/collections/hvac-cleaners or here https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747

This stuff is good and easy to do without the need for disassembly of the unit, just need to open the flap that exposes filters, remove them and follow the instructions.

Wolf555

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#2590310 22-Oct-2020 16:26

Yoban:

RunningMan:

Try this https://www.supercell.co.nz/collections/hvac-cleaners or here https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747

This stuff is good and easy to do without the need for disassembly of the unit, just need to open the flap that exposes filters, remove them and follow the instructions.

Would much rather get this and then I can do all of our heatpumps. Is spraying the coils with this stuff enough to remove the odors?

Yoban

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#2590313 22-Oct-2020 16:34

Wolf555:

Would much rather get this and then I can do all of our heatpumps. Is spraying the coils with this stuff enough to remove the odors?

yes, certainly has worked for me. I tend to do it when daylight saving changes - so twice a year (if I remember). I do give them a good coat.

I also spray in the drip tray under the coils and then put some of a rag and wipe the exterior too.

timmmay

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#2590321 22-Oct-2020 16:49

Give it a shot first. If it doesn't work as well as you'd like get a professional in. I clean my own filters, vacuum the indoor unit, but there's too much rubbish in the way to give it a really good clean. The professionals take a bunch of the plastic around it off to make it easy to clean, and they use a lot of cleaning solution to flush it out well. I have them come in every 2-3 years to do that.

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Gordy7

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#2590324 22-Oct-2020 16:53

I gave my indoor heat pump coils a blast of compressed air (with the filters removed and washed).

Thick wads of dust came out of the indoor coils the first time I did this.

So I am guessing the previous owner of my house never cleaned the heat pump.

I now give the indoor and outdoor coils a blast of compressed air every year before winter.

Gordy

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Kickinbac

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#2591667 25-Oct-2020 14:32

I’m thinking a 2 year old system shouldn’t be smelling musty. Might be worth getting a professional to look at it as there could be a problem with your condensate drain. Could be going a little up hill and holding water in the drain tray.
Condensate is only generated from the indoor when the unit is cooling.

stagnant16

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#2591672 25-Oct-2020 15:14

Ours did it after a year, our carpet is fairly nasty with all the pets etc. so hardly surprising.

Paid $200+ for a service which was basically a spray of both the units and nothing else, fixed the issue but never again!

richms

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#2591712 25-Oct-2020 17:42

Mine does it the first time it goes onto cool after not being on that for a while. Seems to clean itself of the bad smell after a day or 2. Its then only slightly smelly when it flips between heat and cool. Im guessing all that time idle without it getting wet allows for something to build up and then when it cools and it all gets wet the smell happens.

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timmmay

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#2845974 10-Jan-2022 09:50

I'm considering a DIY cleaning as my oldest heat pump is smelling musty again. I don't really mind paying $95 for it to be done professionally, but if I can get a "good enough" job for the price of cleaning solution that sounds good. I know the professional took a lot of the plastic cover off to provide better access. Might be a case of professional every two years (particularly the ducted unit) and DIY in between as maintenance.

Question for @RunningMan and @Yoban : Is doing the clean yourself as simple as opening the top cover of the heat pump, spraying the inside well, leaving it to dry, then closing it up? Plus a separate filter clean. I assume the cleaning solution goes down the built in drain? I've seen DIY cleaning kits that have things like containment bags and straps and such, I wonder what they're for.

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RunningMan

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#2846231 10-Jan-2022 15:53

Pretty much @timmmay The directions on the bottle guide you through, but if I recall, you clean the filter, spray the stuff all over the fins then run it on cooling for a while to get lots of condensation and rinse everything off. There may have been slightly more to, but certainly not complicated.

openmedia

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#2846247 10-Jan-2022 16:17

RunningMan:

Try this https://www.supercell.co.nz/collections/hvac-cleaners or here https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747

I used this on our 10+ year old Fujitsu and it did a great job. Just make sure you put down a drop cloth.

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Yoban

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#2846394 10-Jan-2022 19:52

Yoban:
RunningMan:

Try this https://www.supercell.co.nz/collections/hvac-cleaners or here https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747

This stuff is good and easy to do without the need for disassembly of the unit, just need to open the flap that exposes filters, remove them and follow the instructions.

Yes spot on @timmmay follow the instructions on the bottle of product listed above sourced from Bunnings.

timmmay

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#2846413 10-Jan-2022 20:56

Thanks all, I think I'll give it a go. Bunnings don't stock it in many stores any more, but I think I can get it. $27 is better than $95 for a professional, but you can also get 5 liters for $44 that's a better deal if you do it regularly.

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