Musty smell from a/c

deadlast

Theres been a musty smell from my a/c for the last few weeks when i turn it on. I dont use it that much and cant put it on now as the smell is too bad. Any ideas what the problem is?

Also on these cold mornings, with the heat at maximum only luke warm air comes out and i'm bloody freezing driving into work!??

Darsad

A Quick Google saves me having to type it out !!:)


The most obvious cause of the stench is bacteria within the system itself. Because an air-con system deals hot and humid air, it is easy for bacteria to thrive on the condenser part of the system.

Getting rid of the smell may not be straight-forward. You could try running the system on maximum heat for at least 10 minutes to dry the condenser out. This may remove the problem temporarily, but it is likely to return. There are kits available, from manufacturers such as Comma, which act as disinfectants and are sprayed into the air con system to kill the bacteria.

Your local garage my also be able to help although you should be wary if they say you need to replace parts of the system. This can be an expensive remedy, and is not guaranteed to work. It might be possible for them to service the system without incurring too much cost.

You can help your air-con system stay in shape by running it constantly, even in the winter. Many car manufacturers recommend that you keep the system on all the time. By continually circulating the coolant within the system all the parts are kept lubricated and in working order.

You can give your air-conditioning a workout by running it at full cold for 10 minutes, followed by full heat for 10 minutes. This not only helps the system maintain maximum efficiency, but also helps kill any bacteria hiding inside.

biko

You could try Lysol sprayed into the vents, or even water mixed with white distilled vinegar. Yes, car will smell like a chip stand at first but it kills the mold that caused the first smell.

You could also look into changing various filters (I don't know what car you drive).

deadlast

thanks lads, i did google and came up with similar advice for the mold/musty smell.

What do you think about the heat problem though? Tis coming into the willywarmer season!



Edit:- its an 02 corolla

CJhaughey

Magnus wrote: »

You could try Lysol sprayed into the vents, or even water mixed with white distilled vinegar. Yes, car will smell like a chip stand at first but it kills the mold that caused the first smell.

You could also look into changing various filters (I don't know what car you drive).

Better yet, a dilute solution of bleach(sodium hypochlorite) will kill all the offending bacteria, without the Jeyes smell.
Maybe also change the Pollen filters while you are at it.
They are probably blocked and will drastically reduce airflow if they are, this would cause the poor heating problems.

Pkiernan

deadlast wrote: »

Also on these cold mornings, with the heat at maximum only luke warm air comes out and i'm bloody freezing driving into work!??

This could be that your engine thermostat is stuck open. This will mean that especially on cold mornings your engine does not get hot enough to be able to supply sufficiently hot air to the vehicle interior.

While a thermostat stuck in the open position is not necessarily bad for your engine, you might be seeing a slight loss of both power and fuel economy.

Check your engine temp and see how it rises (or doesn't).

Turn on the engine, and let it idle for 1 minutes or so. Don't rev it up, just let it idle. Keep the heater etc turned off. Your engine temp should be in the middle of the gauge in about 15 mins unless it is very cold outside.

If your car is a diesel, it might just be that your commute to work is not long enough to adequately warm the engine.

padir

you could change the pollen filter tho lots of garages are doing this as part of service now.

the 02 corolla pollen filter is literally paper with no hard plastic surround .. when it gets wet or damp the smell foul..

also a product available from most motor factors to clean air con systems is around ten euro ..

turn on air vent to recycle and set off this stuff off on foot well and close doors ...

i would check the thermostat also but they dont give much trouble....

Avns1s

+1 for changing the pollen filter. Came across this a couple of times in toyotas and changing the pollen filter cured the problem.

trad

Came across one a few years ago with a merc, the hotter it got the more it smelled. Turned out a cat had climed up under the manifold and had been fried by the exhaust manifold. Some job stripping it out and a strong stomach required by the mechanic.

Avns1s

trad wrote: »

Came across one a few years ago with a merc, the hotter it got the more it smelled. Turned out a cat had climed up under the manifold and had been fried by the exhaust manifold. Some job stripping it out and a strong stomach required by the mechanic.

Wouldn't that be more of a "meaty" than a "musty" smell?

trad

Avns1s wrote: »

Wouldn't that be more of a "meaty" than a "musty" smell?

It was there for a while and the smell was hard to describe but I'd say it was cat.

Mr Benevolent

trad wrote: »

Came across one a few years ago with a merc, the hotter it got the more it smelled. Turned out a cat had climed up under the manifold and had been fried by the exhaust manifold. Some job stripping it out and a strong stomach required by the mechanic.

Arrrgh! How the hell could the cat have stayed there for long enough to be turned into feline flambe?