Amana are a large established brand that make quality home appliances. They produce a range of different washing machines. Washing machines such as those made by Amana can develop bad odors, and in this article I will explain what causes an Amana washer to smell bad and how to stop it from smelling.
In general, it has been overloaded or there is mold growth in your Amana washer. If an Amana washer was overloaded it causes stress on the rubber belt, or rubbing at the top of the agitator. This causes a burning plastic or burning rubber smell. Molds have a range of different unpleasant odors.
A burnt rubber or plastic smell can persist and still be present during the next cycles. Whereas, once mold has been killed the smell will typically go away immediately. Below, I will cover in detail why bad odors such as a burning smell, a moldy smell, or a sewage smell can occur in an Amana washer, and how to stop your Amana washer from smelling.
Amana Washer Smells Like Burning
A burning smell on an Amana washer is a bit of a worry because it could potentially cause a fire, or cause damage to your clothes. Luckily, a burning smell from an Amana washer is easy to diagnose. Here’s what causes an Amana washer to have a burning smell.
As a general rule, you overloaded the washer. Doing so makes it difficult for the agitator to rotate, and causes the belt that turns it to slip and rub in the wrong places causing it to burn. The top of the agitator can also move more than it should and rub the sides causing a burnt plastic smell.
On top of that one of the components could have failed, and the electric wiring burnt. This causes an electric burning smell. Typically, if this happens your washer will stop working in some way, and the component needs to be replaced.
Top Cause(s) of Amana Washer Burning Smell
The top causes of a burning smell coming from an Amana washer are:
- The drive belt
- The top of the agitator
- A component failing
The first two are caused by overloading the washer. It can happen once, and then not be noticeable afterwards.
In other cases the agitator or belt are permanently out of position and the smell will happen each time you use your Amana washer. In which case it needs to be repaired.
How To Fix Amana Washer Burning Smell
If the burning smell doesn’t happen again, and your Amana washer is working perfectly fine, then you don’t need to do anything. However, if your Amana washer is not working, or one of the functions isn’t working then it needs to be repaired by a qualified technician. For example, it may not drain, or it won’t spin.
You should also have a qualified technician repair it for you if the burning smell keeps happening. This is because either the rubber belt, or the agitator are out of place. Or, one of the components continues to have electrical issues.
As a result, they will continue to rub and cause a burning smell. Or, have an electrical issue that causes an electrical burning smell. These can be repaired yourself if you have DIY skills by watching a few videos online.
However, it can void the warranty if the repair is not performed by a qualified technician. Therefore, it’s best to check with Amana first by contacting their support team, to verify if it’s still under warranty, if the repair is covered under warranty, and if repairing yourself will void the warranty.
Amana Washer Smells Musty or Moldy
Mold spores can potentially irritate the throat and nose, and otherwise give off an unpleasant odor moldy or musty smell. Here’s why your Amana washer smells musty or moldy and how to get rid of the smell.
As a general rule, there is mold growing somewhere in your Amana washer. Mold can grow in a few different places due to a humid climate, or a leak somewhere in your Amana washer. The mold needs to be killed so that the musty moldy smell goes away.
It can require disassembling your washer to identify where the mold is growing. But, in other cases it can be spotted by taking a look on the inside of your washer, and on the exterior.
Top Cause(s) of Amana Washer Smells Musty or Moldy
In general, mold growth is the main cause of a musty or moldy smell. In rare cases a washing machine can swallow a sock or a pair of underwear that can then be trapped somewhere inside your washer. A damp piece of clothing such as a sock is a very hospitable environment for mold.
In other cases, it can be growing on the rubber components in your washer. Metal for the most part is a bad environment for mold and they won’t grow there.
How To Fix Amana Washer Smells Musty or Moldy
A good first step is to do an empty cycle with bleach. Bleach kills mold, and it is a very easy first step. After that see if the mold smell is still there.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on August 9, 2022.
If it is, visually inspect any areas of an Amana washer you can to see if you can find the mold. If you can’t find the mold, and the mold smell is still there after a few days, then you should contact Amana support to have a repair technician take a look at it.
Amana Washer Smells Like Rotten Eggs, Sewer Gas or Sulfur
A rotten egg smell is very unpleasant. It can often be isolated with a sniff test and if you notice it’s coming from your Amana washer, here’s why it happens.
In general, it’s caused by an issue with the plumbing that your Amana washer flows into, or by a mold. Some varieties of mold produce a rotten gas smell. In other cases one of the plumbing vents is blocked, or there is a leak somewhere in the plumbing that is leaking sewage behind the walls.
There are a few steps you need to do to identify what is causing the issue. It’s somewhat common for a crack or leak in the plumbing to occur which causes waste water to flow into the walls or underneath the house.
Top Cause(s) of Amana Washer Smells Like Rotten Eggs, Sewer Gas or Sulfur
Mold can have a few different odors. There is the common musty mold smell, but they can also produce a gasoline smell, a sanitizer smell, a metallic smell, a fruity smell, and even a sewage type smell. The other main cause of a sewage smell coming from an Amana washer is an issue with what is called a p-trap in the plumbing.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on August 9, 2022.
A p-trap has a permanent pool of water that blocks bad odors in the pipe from coming back up the pipe. An issue with the p-trap can be caused by a leak somewhere in the plumbing or a blockage in what are called vents.
Vents are long pipes that go to the ceiling and maintain a pressure balance in the plumbing which allows the water to flow normally. If one or more vents are blocked it will cause the p-trap to not function correctly.
How To Fix Amana Washer Smells Like Rotten Eggs, Sewer Gas or Sulfur
To kill any mold that is causing the sewage smell first do an empty cycle with a cup or so of bleach. Bleach kills mold, and as the water runs through your washing machine it will kill any mold. Do this first, and then see if the sewage smell remains over the next day or so.
If it does there can be mold growing somewhere in your Amana washer. Visually inspect all the areas you can for any mold and wipe it away, with a damp cloth and bleach. Be sure to always wear safety gloves when working with bleach.
It is a strong chemical that is acidic and can harm the skin. If it’s neither of these, then it’s best to call a plumber to take a look at your plumbing system. That can identify where the sewage smell is coming from, and also very likely fix it at the same time.
In general, there is a mechanical failure that is causing one or more components to rub incorrectly causing them to burn. Or, there is mold growing somewhere in your Amana washer. The type of bad smell will indicate what’s causing it, details on how to identify what’s causing it are explained below.
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on August 9, 2022.