Strange odor coming from a mini split
A homeowner notices a strange, unpleasant odor in their garage shortly after having a new mini split air conditioner installed.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Spraying evaporator coil cleanerDid this help you?
- 2Removing visible pet hair from coil finsDid this help you?
- 3Pouring bleach down condensate drainDid this help you?
- 4Using scented filter spraysDid this help you?
- 5Using indoor air quality products like Air Scrubbers or I-WaveDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Installed an 18k mini split in the garage yesterday.”source ↗
“today in the garage there is a distinct...odor. For lack of a better descriptor, it smells a little like jizz or one of those ornamental pears that smell very similar.”source ↗
“Does anyone here have any experience with R32 leaks?”source ↗
“My apartment has had a strong earthy odor since I moved in, particularly for the first 30 seconds when the AC starts.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Why is there a bad smell coming from my car vents?
- 37Why is there a mystery wet dog or sour smell in the house?
- 5Dishwasher has a funky smell but looks visually clean
- 13Why is my AC making a weird noise when it turns on?
- 7Burning smell coming from HVAC vents
- 3Why does my electrical appliance smell like fish or burnt rubber?