how do I get rid of that musty smell in my cars air conditioner?

Answer 1

The musty smell is caused by mold in your AC system, because you shut the engine down while the airconditioner was still running. That allows the natural water present in the air as humidity to condense in the cool AC evaporator and ductwork system. That moisture is a nice warm and dark place for mold to grow.

The way to prevent it is to turn off the AC a minute or so before you arrive at your destination to allow the entire system to reach ambient air temperature and prevent the condensation. No condensation means no water means no mold.

But you've already got the mold, and you need to know how to get rid of it. You can clean and spray the air filter all you want but its not going to make much difference. The only way to really clean it is to remove the evaporator and ductwork from your car, but that is going to be a big job!

Answer 2

The odour is due to your a/c. The evaporator core in your dash is condensation with the a/c on, and then dries while the vehicle is off. This can cause some mold growth. The solution.........start vehicle with a/c on high.
It must be in fresh air mode (not recirculating inside air, or sometimes called max a/c) . Get a can of Lysol antibacterial spray or equivalent and spray it down the cowl at base of windshield on the outside near wiper arms/ blades. If in doubt where to spray, you may feel air movement at correct location or use tissue and watch for it to move. Spray about 1/2 the can and run vehicle for a while. You may need to do this several times. Note: leave doors or windows open, the smell from that much cleaner can be nauseating.
Also if you have a newer vehicle, check and or replace cabin filters (air filters for passenger cabin).
THIS IS THE FIX NEW CAR MANUFACTURES RECOMMEND.... I work at a Gm dealer and we see this all the time, no real problem, just unpleasant odour.

Answer 3

rid musty smell cars air conditioner

Answer 4

Depending upon the year, make, and model, you may have a fresh air intake filter for the cabin or passenger compartment for your car. The "musty" smell is actually caused by fungus that grows in your cars a/c system. I would suggest that you change the filter, if you have one, and take a trip to your local NAPA auto parts store. There is a product that is designed to kill the fungus and mold that grows in your ventilation system. Very simply spray the entire contents of the canister into your vents and walk away. Anything you need for your car, you can find by shopping at www.napaonline.com

Answer 5

RE:
how do I get rid of that musty smell in my cars air conditioner?

Answer 6

i used everything from frebreeze to oust to get rid of the musty smell and i even left the windows down in my car. I even changed the air filter. It took a couple of weeks, but finally the musty scent went away. then i vaccumed the carpet with a vaccum fragrance and that helped it even more

Answer 7

i have read all of these solutions and topherman is right but you can do it from inside the car with air on recirc also doing both inside and out increases efectiveness but the smell always comes back
if the manufactures would put a little thought into this they could mount the evap horizontally so when the car stops no water would remain setting on the fins it all would gravity drain off brilliant huh?

Answer 8

OK...first of all, I would take some time to find an auto technician that you trust to advise you about this, but there are actually products on the market that are made to help eliminate A/C odors. Before you use Febreeze or Lysol...please do more research to see what you should use. Call a parts store & ask someone there about the products available!

Answer 9

What I do is take it to an automatic car wash and get the double wash and wax. Leave your vents running full choke the whole time. It sounds retarded but it works. Your car will smell like that wax, which smells petty good actually.

Answer 10

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