Nasty Air Con Smell

[Julian1977]

I used the air con today for the first time this spring only to get a nasty smell in the cabin. I guess it is to do with the bacteria that have grown there over the winter.

My car's service is not due until September and I don't want to take to the dealer for an Air Con Service and pay some £100 as I guess the air con doesn't need recharging yet (the car is less then two years old and it's only done 27,000 miles).

What are my options? Has anyone used an air con cleaner or an air con cleaner bomb? If yes, can you recommend a suitable product? Or perhaps I would should start by changing the pollen filter?

Cheers.

Btw, apologies to the moderator(s) for not starting this thread in the Car Care section but I don't think many people look there.

 

[jimiC]

if it gets cold enough then probably no recharge is due. i've never tried the AirCon bomb but i've always operated the air con at least once a month regardless of the weather. it's what my previous brand dealer recommended and it seemed to make sense.

 

[dw911]

Just use one of the air con bombs

Even if you don't use the aircon in the winter (I use it to demist the windscreen)
You should still run it once a month in the winter to stop the seals drying out

 

[Ocularis]

I've used an AC bomb before... it worked "alright" i guess. The smell is REALLY strong though so you will have to keep the ac running for a few days to get the smell to work its way out. still had a slight whiff to it but nothing like it was before.

 

[thefunkygibbon]

i bought my car a couple months ago now and when i purchased it the stealer said they would do a bomb for me to get rid of the smell of fags in the car.

the smell of fags has indeed gone, but the smell which comes out of my aircon is frankly disgusting. when i mentioned it to them they said it was just the smell of the disinfectant part of the bomb and it would go in time.
its not gone yet and completely stops me wanting to use it as it really does make the car reek

 

[guari]

air con bomb after putting a new pollen filter are the first steps to take for sure.

 

[Julian1977]

Thanks for your replies. I've ordered a new pollen filter yesterday, hopefully this will get rid or at least help the problem. I am also thinking to run the AC for a few days maybe this will help too.

Thanks for the tip re AC, I always avoided it because I can't stand it for too long. But yesterday I had my daughter and her friend in the car and they were moaning about how hot it was, so I decided to switch in on. Enough for them to make fun of my car

 

[Ocularis]

You can have the AC on and it will still heat the car if the temp is set higher than the inside of the cabin. It's not just for cooling

 

[thefunkygibbon]

Ok so now I'm confused. Is the bad smell to do with it being cleaned (as is apparently my case) or because it hasn't been used and maybe have bacteria in it (as is OP'S case).

Any feedback appreciated as I really want to get rid of the smell... but fear that doing (another) airbomb will make it no better or worse.

 

[scrich7]

My AC has been left on permanently since I've had the car. The climate control in the Leon is pretty clever as it automatically decides whether or not the AC needs to be on (you can see this in the convenience consumers display in the MDI).

Basically, even though the climate control always has the AC button as 'on', the AC actually isn't being used all the time. There is an option in the settings to do with automatic AC regulation or something.

 

[dephead2004]

I'll see if I can help with my experiences.

I had a very smelly 5 series bmw once. Old socks, dead cats etc. Tried a bomb and found that it left a residue on the interior. Well it would wouldn't it? Not happy so complained to Comma and got a refund plus some other bits free.

I then used a spray disinfectant from German company Wurth. This comes with a plastic lance and tube. It gets inserted into the air intake vent with the engine running and also the interior vents with the engine off. It is solvent based with a disinfectant. Costs about £20 on eBay. Does it work. Yes, no residue and no smell.

Of course prevention is better than cure and accepted wisdom is that air con should be run for at least 20 mins per week to prevent smells but also to lubricate the seals and prevent cracking and then leaks of refridgerant, which no top up will cure and to replace is too costly. The refridgerant also contains a lubricant to keep the seals flexible.

My variant is always to run the heater on full blast a mile from arriving at home. This dries out the condenser and also helps prevent smells. Hit the Max button and on a cold day watch the condensation appear on the screen. That would otherwise sit in the air con unit and mix with outside contaminants and then rot and ferment and produce the smell.

 

[dephead2004]

My AC has been left on permanently since I've had the car. The climate control in the Leon is pretty clever as it automatically decides whether or not the AC needs to be on (you can see this in the convenience consumers display in the MDI).

Basically, even though the climate control always has the AC button as 'on', the AC actually isn't being used all the time. There is an option in the settings to do with automatic AC regulation or something.

+1

Some here argue about the cost of fuel when running air con but if you look atthe eco bar it hardly moves with air con on, more so with the fan

 

[Muttley]

Of course prevention is better than cure and accepted wisdom is that air con should be run for at least 20 mins per week to prevent smells but also to lubricate the seals and prevent cracking and then leaks of refridgerant, which no top up will cure and to replace is too costly. The refridgerant also contains a lubricant to keep the seals flexible.

Well, I always thought that the lubricant was meant for the moving parts in the compressor and any valves in the system. The seals would be kept flexible and in condition simply by being worked and not left to rest in one position. I believe the compressors in newer systems (Mk.2 and Mk.3 Leons) are always turning and the cooling output is controlled by a swash plate so that in Eco mode the compressor does no pumping.

My variant is always to run the heater on full blast a mile from arriving at home. This dries out the condenser and also helps prevent smells. Hit the Max button and on a cold day watch the condensation appear on the screen. That would otherwise sit in the air con unit and mix with outside contaminants and then rot and ferment and produce the smell.

Bear in mind that the evaporator (which is the cooling element in the cabin air system - think about why petrol feels cold on your skin) is upstream of the heater matrix - that's how the aircon system also dries the incoming air. So no matter how hot you run the system, the evaporator matrix isn't going to get any more dried out - the condensation from the matrix still drips onto the drive and causes an embarassing puddle Running the fan at full blast will do the best you can to clean the evaporator, if only by washing it in lots of condensation . . . Of course, running the heater matrix up as well will dry that out, which is also a good thing.

Here's a drawing I did some time ago of the ventilation system in my then Mk.2 Toledo.

Cooling the incoming air first causes most of the moisture in it to condense on the evaporator (cold air can hold less moisture than hot air). Heating it up to the desired temperature then increases the ability to hold moisture i.e. it creates a hot, dry airstream.

The principal is the same for all car systems, but the pipework and sensor fit gets more complicated with dual zones. Also, the pollen filter is between the fan and the evaporator in my Altea, accessed from under the dash.

 

[Julian1977]

Cheers guys.

Here's an update...

I put the heater on yesterday at 24 degrees, low profile, fan at medium speed. I had it like that all the way to work (had to have the window open as well as I was quite hot in the car). The reason was to "cook" the bacteria.

Then I had the AC on on the way back from home at 17 degrees, low profile, fan at medium speed. I had a smell for about 30 seconds and that was pretty much all.

Will alternate the heater and the AC for a few days (not sure whether it's a good idea, if somebody is more technically minded than I am, please correct me) and will also change the pollen filter when it arrives, let's see what this will bring.

I don't really want to use a bomb.