Moldy Air-Con

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

In the last month, (since the heavy rains?) my car has started to smell bad - at least when I first get in.
(I checked to see if Irishstu or Sandman had been sitting in my car when I wasn’t around, but apparently that hasn’t been the case.)
The carpets are dry, as is the trunk - I’m quite sure that no water is getting inside the car, but when I first get in the car, it smells like something died! I open the windows, and it goes away quickly, and when I turn on the air-con, it’s bed for about a minute or so, then it gets better, and then finally unnoticeable. Until the next time, when the process repeats itself.

What’s the solution? With my last car, the service centre had blasted some perfumed air “freshener” into the vents that smelled worse than the mold did, so I’m pretty sure I don’t want to just cover up the smell with something stronger - I want to get rid of it altogether.

2

Lysol spray

3

here in HK, they have a spray foam specifically made for AC. not sure if you can do that with car AC.

4

It depends on the car really. In some cars it’s pretty easy to get the condenser out and either clean the shit out of it, or replace it with a new one. In others you have to dismantle the whole dash. I had a similar problem with an older car I once owned and found an anti-bacterial / fungicidal spray which really worked. I don’t remember the brand, it was Japanese. It was supposed to be scent-free, and what smell there was didn’t seem unpleasant. I used to put the ac on full recycle and squirt that stuff into the area where the ac drew cabin air from, before shutting the car down for the night. That way the spray got to work on the condenser all night. They probably have something suitable at your local ricer’s widget emporium.