bad smell from AC

[Vin]

Hi All,
After searching around (this great forum and the Internet). Solutions so far..

1. Spray Lysol into air intake vent.
2. Drain fluid from AC box.

I am leaning toward #2 because spraying stuff into the vent might cause more problems. Any suggestion?

many thanks!

PS. Just realized i posted in the wrong area! sorry...Note to Admin: please move to General Maintenance. Thanks again.

[ July 05, 2002, 17:13: Message edited by: vinzahoo ]

 

[JerseyJettaTDI]

A number of years ago i read about this problem...it is actually caused by microbes growing in the moisture on your evaporator coil after you shut the a/c down.

General Motors wrestled with this problem for a bit and on some of their high end cars the blower motor would automatically run hot air over the coil about 10 minutes after shut down to dry it and prevent growth (no moisture, no bugs i guess). They also sold an aerosol can of some pretty nasty sh*t that was sprayed into the "air handler" to kill the little buggers.

My little trick for avoiding it is to shut the a/c down a minute or two before reaching my destination and briefly running the heat to warm up the evaporator coil so moisture doesn't condense...

 

[TDIMeister]

Lysol in the A/C tract works great. Spray a generous amount right at the pollen filter under the cowling in the firewall, basically wetting it. Run fan or A/C at full blast for about 5 minutes, switching between defrost, floor and forward. Microbes killed, car smells Lysol fresh

I do it about twice a year, spring and late summer. Note: avoid sitting in the car while Lysol is circulating about. Allow some time to air before going in.

 

[jasonTDI]

Some med supply shops sell products that they call a "bomb" and you putit in the car release it with the recirc on and in 5 minutes. clean. Actually very similar to what the military uses for making make shift steril rooms for triage situations.

 

[Vin]

I hosed down the pollen filter today with Lysol. Couldn’t believe how many flavor of Lysol out there. The one I used “LYSOL Brand II Disinfectant Spray: Crisp Line Scent”.

Thanks to all for responding.

 

[weedeater]

If I were doing it, I would remove the pollen filter first in order to get the Lysol down where it needs to go to do its work.

 

[professor]

It would do no good to run the heater to dry the coil, as the air goes through the evaporator first, then the heater core. It would help to shut off the AC before reaching distination, especially as there could be ice on some parts, and after melting, the airflow would help it to the drain. Another source of smell is the original windshield washer fluid, most people drain and replace right away.

 

[Roundy47]

Hey! I like the smell of the original washer fluid. Smells like vodka. Come to think of it, maybe it is........

 

[Vin]

Just wanted to post the result for documentations purposes. Spraying the pollen filter with Lysol worked.

1. Spray the pollen filter with generous amount of Lysol.
2. Open all windows/sunroof and turn the air to max
3. Switch location every 5 minutes until it cycle through all settings.

That's it.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[willys]

Turbo Steve posted this URL last year to deal with the "odour" involved with A/C units...
http://www.atmosklear.com
You apparently can get it at any Ford or GM dealer too....