Killing aircon pong without making it smell even worse

[brman]

I have a pretty sensitive nose and hate the usual air-fresheners. imho they don't even mask the smell you are trying to get rid of, they just add another (also unpleasant) smell on top.

That said, my daughters car has a pretty unpleasant smell from the aircon. Smells like something has died in there. I am assuming this is something growing in the damp environment.

So, do any of the aircon "bombs" actually work. ie kill the source of the smell without making the whole car smell like the a tarts hankerchief?

Oh, and yes, the pollen filter has been changed, that made no difference.

[IJWS15]

Try hot (as hot as it goes) full blast for 10-15 minutes followed by cold (as cold as it gets) for 15 minutes.

Or is it the other way round?

[TwinKam]

You don't mention what car it is, and some have worse leaf traps than others but, in general, ensure that there's no 'compost' anywhere in the airways, that means not only in the cabin filter housing but also upstream in the plenum under the wiper mechanism too, from where the HVAC system gets its air.
I'm not a fan of the 'bombs', but I always douse a new filter in antibac spray before fitting, to kill bugs downstream, the strong alcohol smell doesn't stick around too long after the intitial 'walk away'. The one I use and can recommend is Normfest Viro Air Fresh Plus (Art. No. 2897-302 from Euros).

[brman]

Thanks Both,

I will try blasting it hot and cold. It hasn't been used for more than short journeys for a long while so this could be part of the problem.

The car is a 2012 Seat Ibiza. It did have quite a lot of trapped leaves etc when she got it (and it had the smell then too) but I have cleaned all the drains, etc. I suspect the damage (ie moisture causing something to grown) happened before she got it. It just hasn't gone away.

I will have a look at that Normfest stuff.

[CoolHands]

Also change the cabin filter. I tried an air bomb when I first bought my car, I removed the cabin filter when I did it. Cant say if it did anything as my car didn’t have a problem.

When I bought mine after much research (I’m very sad!) I bought the STP one as it seemed to be the one that worked best from various reports. I got it from halfords but they don’t seem to have it at the moment.

https://stp-aircon.eu/product/stp-auto-air-con-cle...

Here was mine in action (yes I took the seats out)

[brman]

what sort of smell did the stp bomb leave? I am a bit suspicious of stuff that says "Fresh scent", in my experience that generally means a strong fake smell that makes my eyes water and doesn't quite hide the underlying problem! I am really after something where any smell is gone in a few days.....

[CoolHands]

Yeah I know, I’m the same, I don’t like plug-in air freshers etc. It did just smell like a generic air freshener, nothing too offensive. After a few days it was just a background hint if you know what I mean. I would use it again if I felt the need to (at the time the car was new to me and I was extensively cleaning it which is why I used it). No one can say if it will truly solve your problem though!

[brman]

Thanks, that sounds promising.

[OldSkoolRS]

Might be worth trying Air Vidox*. I used it to get rid of the smell of cigarettes from a used car, which eventually did go. It leaves the car smelling like a swimming pool for a few days, then that goes leaving it smelling of nothing in particular. It's important to remove the cabin filter and make sure that it is on recirculation to pull the fumes through the system.

Another option is to use a steam cleaner if you have one and direct that down the vents to kill any bacteria that might have built up.

• Air Vidox: https://www.airvidox.co.uk/

[Peanut Gallery]

Make sure she uses the fans the whole time - I have seen far too many people turn off the fans because they have a smell or something, then turn off the AC because the windows are fogging up and you want warm air, not cold air. (I gave up with that one)

Random recommendation for the carbon air filters as opposed to the plain paper ones - I couldn't find one at my last service and have noticed a big increase in general smells in the last year.

Edit - ozone machine? - just a thought!

[vikingaero]

Whatever you use to clean/deodorise the a/c system, you need to get into a routine of purging the a/c system. So when you are a few minutes from home, you need to turn the a/c off, turn the fan on a bit higher and dry out the moisture in the system. It's a bother and faff, especially if you don't know where your destination is.

[brman]

I do have an ozone machine but I am not sure how well it will work against growths in the aircon? I have also found that, if used too much, it can affect plastics and rubber so I tend to use it with caution.

vikingaero said:

Whatever you use to clean/deodorise the a/c system, you need to get into a routine of purging the a/c system. So when you are a few minutes from home, you need to turn the a/c off, turn the fan on a bit higher and dry out the moisture in the system. It's a bother and faff, especially if you don't know where your destination is.

That is the fundimental problem.

I have had this "discussion" with my wife. She generally does very short journeys and keeps the aircon on all the time. Her reason being that otherwise the screen mists up when she starts the car. Trying to persuade her that the reason the screen mists up is because she had the aircon on last time she used it and so there is damp sitting in the system is an uphill battle! She is starting to listen now her car is starting to smell like my daughters!

To be fair to my daughter, I don't she has ever used the aircon (she has only had the car since the autumn), but the previous owner was an old lady so I suspect it had been subjected to lots of short journeys with the aircon on.

[Ice_blue_tvr]

Literally just spoke to an aircon engineer. His recommendation, other than the machine he uses, was to run the car for 10-15mins on the coldest setting and the car on recirc, but with the windows down to allow the moisture and bacteria to evacuate.

[brman]

Thanks. Sounds like working the aircon hard then maybe drying it with max heat is a good place to start.
I will have a play when I get the chance and report back.

[Robertb]

My daughters Mini has a stinky hvac system. I’ve tried changing the microfilter, aircon service including an air freshener anti bacteria thing.

It only seemed to work temporarily. As you say, it ended up smelling strongly of lemon detergent with an ever growing overtone of stinky aircon.

Using the car regularly certainly helps, as it rarely gets used as she’s at Uni.

[hidetheelephants]

An ozone machine in the car with the AC on recirculate for a few hours would do it.

[TwinKam]

Just for general info & interest...
Pulled this cabin filter out of a 7yr old Kia Ceed yesterday, it's quite possibly the original, despite the full complement of main dealer annual service stamps...
Never assume. Just renew annually. All air entering the cabin (and then your mouth) passes through this...








PS For those that are unfamiliar, this would've been bright virgin snow white when new.
PPS I have seen worse...

[Ice_blue_tvr]

TwinKam said:

PS For those that are unfamiliar, this would've been bright virgin snow white when new.
PPS I have seen worse...

Not if its an activated carbon filter? Despite that there's a lot of debris in it!

[TwinKam]

Ice_blue_tvr said:

TwinKam said:

PS For those that are unfamiliar, this would've been bright virgin snow white when new.
PPS I have seen worse...

Not if its an activated carbon filter? Despite that there's a lot of debris in it!

Well obviously, else I wouldn't have made that comparison
Having said that, it is a carbon filter now

[Philvrs]

Slightly annoying americans, but good videos in layman’s terms.