What can cause mold smell in car?

Question

I have a sudden moldy smell in my car. It just appeared one day when I opened the door. I have no wet carpet in my car, and we've cleaned out all items in the car as well. The smell is still very pungent and I'm wondering what other things may be the culprit. Is it possible that the air filter or cabin filter could be moldy and causing this smell? Anyone else ever had this problem?

Answer 1

yes mold grows in the ducts you can change the cabin airfilter also there is a tool (fogger) some shops have that will kill the mold in the ducts

Answer 2

Try spraying Lysol or Febreeze in the A/C intake (usually on the cowl between your wipers) while the A/C is running. Switch through the different settings making sure to get all the ducts and vents. This may kill any microbes in the system. It's worth a shot and won't cost anything. Next I'd change the cabin filter.
If that doesn't work it could be something more serious. Try an a/c expert or a detailer who can use ozone or some other odor eliminator in it. Be sure to find the source and eliminate it or the smell will keep coming back. It might be wise to take look under the seats or take them out and peel the carpet back. It could really be coming from anywhere. The area only needed to be damp and not wet to form mildew.

Answer 3

There are a ton of reasons for musty/moldy smells

A/C being run on max, no fresh air
previous water damage
debris build up in your vetilation system
clogged cabin filter..

Answer 4

Some people are very sensitive to smells - I get migraines from some perfumes, from some food smells, etc. Try asking them not to spray any smells in them in the future, and in the mean time, let the car air out over night - open all the windows if you can put it in a garage or something. That will help him some.

Answer 5

it could be the filter,and it could also be some debris that got caught up in the heater box in it,and when it starts to rot it will cause mold and mildew to form,be sure and look in under the carpet as well as on the top of it,water will get in under it and it will appear to be dry on the top,but it will cause mold to form and smell bad,good luck finding it.

Answer 6

There is padding under the carpet in your car. The carpet may look clean but the mold could be in the padding.

Answer 7

Check the trunk. Lift up the spare tire cover and see if the spare tire well has water in it. The trunck weatherstrip could be leaking water into the trunk, and you are getting the mildew smell throughout the rest of the car.

Answer 8

Since you did not specify the vehicle, age or accesories, I will generalize.
Your AC may have microbes growing on the evaporator.
That is, if you have AC.
This can be corrected in several ways---depending on your type of vehicle, and prevetative measures can be taken---again depending on what vehicle you have.
Also, just because the top of the carpet is dry does not mean their isn't water in the inch of padding underneath. Water can be vewy, vewy sneaky.

Answer 9

A flooded car is the obvious problem. Did you buy your car recently? It might have been in a flood previously but still resold. Something might have spilled somewhere or maybe something died somewhere? I suggest getting your seats professionally cleaned and your car checked out (something might be stuck up in the underside of your car).

Answer 10

I see you are aware of the cabin filter, change it. If it has never been changed you are in for a surprise.