Musty, smelly air conditioning....

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SpeedRacerAZ

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Per the normal recommendations:

I've changed the cabin air filter, sprayed Lysol in the air intake, turned the heat an AC on for long enough to cook my breakfast.... the AC still smells like musty feet when you turn it on.


Any ideas? (I live in Phoenix, it's HOT and Dry like nowhere else and I use the AC about 10 months out of the year)

Andy
 
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PetrolDave

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You can get an AC cleaner "bomb" that you put inside the car and turn the AC onto recirc. This will better clean out the bacteria, mould, etc. that are causing the nasty smells.

BTW do not sit in the car while this is being done!!!
 
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Zenerdiode

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There's a lot of sponge-like material in the AC system; where the bacteria and spores love to grow. In addition to Dave's suggestion of the 'bomb' - investigate other cleaners with more direct action. You can get a foam that is introduced (squirted :))up the AC drain (have you checked these - by the way) and allowed to sit and drain out. However, if you picture a sheet of filthy mouldy sponge, just squirting some cleaning fluid or spray on to it isn't really going to clean it at all. You may have to dismantle and give all of the components (evaporator etc.) a good scrub in soapy water to get it clean.

Your environment is a perfect breeding ground too. Although we get smelly AC in England too, with your climate I'm assuming you'll be running the AC for your journey and it will switch off at the end. This leaves everything soaking wet inside; that then warms up to breeding temperature very quickly. When you get the stuff clean, it's good practice to switch off the AC compressor about 10 mins before your destination, keeping the fans running to dry the internals.
 
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Uwe

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When you get the stuff clean, it's good practice to switch off the AC compressor about 10 mins before your destination, keeping the fans running to dry the internals.
Have you ever been to Phoenix in the summer? They say it's not so bad, because it's a dry heat. Yeah, well, so is an oven, and that's what the inside of a car will feel like approximately two minutes after shutting off the A/C. ;)

-Uwe-
 
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PetrolDave

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so is an oven, and that's what the inside of a car will feel like approximately two minutes after shutting off the A/C. ;)
When I was working on active noise control prototypes we did some testing cars in Death Valley, the microphones in the headlining reached temperatures of 90 Celsius (nearly 200 Fahrenheit) :mad:
 
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SpeedRacerAZ

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AC...

2 Minutes??? When it's 115 and the sun is beating down on your car, you get somewhere between 6-8 seconds when you turn the AC off.

In reality the car never actually cools off, only the cold air from the vents keeps you cool. The S4 was not designed to to keep the passengers cool while working on the surface of the sun.


Have you ever been to Phoenix in the summer? They say it's not so bad, because it's a dry heat. Yeah, well, so is an oven, and that's what the inside of a car will feel like approximately two minutes after shutting off the A/C. ;)

-Uwe-
 
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dafrazi

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I run an ozone generator in my car with the AC on recirc to get rid of the musty smell each spring.
 
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