Smell from A/C vents?

rustylogan · Sep 3, 2009

Bought an '09 Patriot Sport 4x4 on 8/1/09, 1600 miles on it now. I've got a smell coming from the A/C vents - smells a bit like mold. The smell goes away quite a bit when the A/C is on (versus just air blowing through the vents, when it is worse). Has anyone else had a similar problem / were you able to get it resolved?

I'm fearful this may be the result of the dreaded roof leak, but there are no leaks anywhere in the interior of the car that I can see. My car does NOT have a sunroof by the way!

Chris

NickelPlate · Sep 3, 2009

I don't think you have a leak problem. A good explanation is here:

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/heatingac/a/aa071601a.htm

Essentially it's caused by bacteria growing in the AC system. The simplest solution is to just turn of the AC and leave the vent running to dry out the system a few minutes before you arrive at your destination. I've been doing this since last year and I've yet to encounter any offensive odor coming from the vents.

Regards,

NP

creo · Sep 3, 2009

Does it smell like teen spirit?

I put $50 on mice.

rustylogan · Sep 3, 2009

NickelPlate said:
I don't think you have a leak problem. A good explanation is here:

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/heatingac/a/aa071601a.htm

Essentially it's caused by bacteria growing in the AC system. The simplest solution is to just turn of the AC and leave the vent running to dry out the system a few minutes before you arrive at your destination. I've been doing this since last year and I've yet to encounter any offensive odor coming from the vents.

Regards,

NP

Good advice NP - so were you having the problem before you started doing this?

Chris

wpeck2 · Sep 4, 2009

This is a fairly common problem caused by mold in the ducting. Turn the blower on very high speed, set the controls to vent/floor indicator. Make sure recirc is not pushed. Spray a can of Lysol or other disinfectant (must state on can "kills mold and mildew ") outside at bottom of windshield at the air intake. Spray until someone sees vapor coming out of vents in car. Then let the car sit overnight and you should be fine. Sometimes you have to repeat this once or twice a year.

Kahbrohn · Sep 4, 2009

wpeck2 said:
This is a fairly common problem caused by mold in the ducting. Turn the blower on very high speed, set the controls to vent/floor indicator. Make sure recirc is not pushed. Spray a can of Lysol or other disinfectant (must state on can "kills mold and mildew ") outside at bottom of windshield at the air intake. Spray until someone sees vapor coming out of vents in car. Then let the car sit overnight and you should be fine. Sometimes you have to repeat this once or twice a year.

I need to try this on Yogi, my house cat. Damn beast reeks today!!!

rocal · Sep 4, 2009

You could try this, Rusty. Check that the controls are not set to "recycle internal air"; have a shower!

Rocal

(only kidding, of course.)

Seriously though, Wpeck2's solution is certain to work. Because we live in such a damp climate over here in the UK, mould is a constant problem. There are lots of proprietary killers available. I'm sure somewhere like O'Reilly's will have some.
For some reason Americans get really up tight about mould. I even remember some episode of "King of the Hill" that was entirely based on it. Over in northern Europe we get mould on just about everything and we just get on with it. After all, you get Penicillin from mould, so your Patriot might be just the place to be while Swine flu is doin' the rounds.....

tiptronic · Sep 4, 2009

I bought an Aereosol A/C Cleaner. You fire up the Jeep , you put the A/c on full fan & all vents open. Then activate the can ( When you pressthe button it stays down & discharges the full content) . Then put the can on the floor behind the drivers seat , shut the doors & let it do its stuff for 10 mins. It didnt mention about putting A/c on re-circulate, so I did 5mins re circ. & 5 mins re circ.off. This stuff has a citrus perfume & is supposed to de-bug, de-fug, de-smell, de mould , de-bacteria the whole system. I got this can from a local auto store . Its called A/C cleaner & is made by a company called Car Plan, it was £3.99--I dont know wether a similar product maybe available where you live. I wasnt having probs with my A/c , but thought I'd do it anyway.

Kahbrohn · Sep 4, 2009

tiptronic said:
I bought an Aereosol A/C Cleaner. You fire up the Jeep , you put the A/c on full fan & all vents open. Then activate the can ( When you pressthe button it stays down & discharges the full content) . Then put the can on the floor behind the drivers seat , shut the doors & let it do its stuff for 10 mins. It didnt mention about putting A/c on re-circulate, so I did 5mins re circ. & 5 mins re circ.off. This stuff has a citrus perfume & is supposed to de-bug, de-fug, de-smell, de mould , de-bacteria the whole system. I got this can from a local auto store . Its called A/C cleaner & is made by a company called Car Plan, it was £3.99--I dont know wether a similar product maybe available where you live. I wasnt having probs with my A/c , but thought I'd do it anyway.

This reminds me of the time Mrs. Kah took me to the airport once. After dropping me off, she noticed some ants on the dash on her drive back. Sooooooooooooooo.... she figured on doing me a favor and bought a fogging insecticide.

(SIGH!)

When I come back from the trip and she picks me up, I get in the car and man! What a stench! I asked her what happened and when she explained the situation to me I just about cried. It was my daily driver! For about three months, no matter what I did, every time I got out of the car and walked into an office or whatever, people would ask me what the smell was. There was NO WAY to get rid of it! It was deeply embedded into the seat foam, rugs, air ducts, everything!

No more ants though. That part did work like a charm.

So, I assume you actually have a pleasant smell with he fogger you bought then Tip?

tiptronic · Sep 4, 2009

Mine was Ok --I bought the one with the Lemon perfume--Nice. It lasted about 2 days & then went back to its regular Jeep smell ( Mine still smells like new).

Kahbrohn · Sep 4, 2009

tiptronic said:
Mine was Ok --I bought the one with the Lemon perfume--Nice. It lasted about 2 days & then went back to its regular Jeep smell ( Mine still smells like new).

Ahhh... nice. I am thinking about this for my son's Rav4. He's a track & field athlete and he is always getting into the Rav all sweaty and such. The years have taken their toll on the upholstery and it smells like a gym now.

NickelPlate · Sep 4, 2009

rustylogan said:
Good advice NP - so were you having the problem before you started doing this?

Chris

A little bit yes, but nothing too offensive. Since I've been doing this though I've had zero smells. My Jeep still even has a little bit of that new car smell and I've had it about a year now.

You can also try spraying Lysol as well but I haven't found that to be necessary if you just remember turn of the AC and let the vents run a few minutes before you get to where you're going.

Regards,

Dave

wpeck2 · Sep 5, 2009

Air borne mold can be very dangerous. You are breathing it into your lungs. If a person gets into your car with asthma, they can have a attack. Black mold is what you usually see in a damp corner of your basement, or behind a leaking shower panel. Most states now required a mold check prior to selling your house. My 94 Concorde was terrible about this. It would get a musty smell, I'd spray and 3 months later it would come back. I was worried about my young grandchildren breathing that stuff.

rockymountainguy · Sep 5, 2009

wpeck2 said:
This is a fairly common problem caused by mold in the ducting. Turn the blower on very high speed, set the controls to vent/floor indicator. Make sure recirc is not pushed. Spray a can of Lysol or other disinfectant (must state on can "kills mold and mildew ") outside at bottom of windshield at the air intake. Spray until someone sees vapor coming out of vents in car. Then let the car sit overnight and you should be fine. Sometimes you have to repeat this once or twice a year.

This works quite well, I used to smoke in my older cars and would do the Lysol thing 3 to 4 times a year. if you don't smoke then once should do it

Jayboid · Sep 5, 2009

I’m the guy who had two guillotined mice in my AC fan motor. I used a product to restore pleasant smells purchased at AutoZone for around 10 bucks. The product was an an aerosol claiming to fix all problems including bacteria/mold. Wish I could remember the name. I’m sure all stores stock it.

The directions were quite explicit. Run A/C at Max for 5 minutes after you spray ½ can into the outside cabin air intake. Then turn off fan, and spray the rest in the inside air vents. Wait another 5 minutes, then run A/C at normal for 5 minutes.

Worked so well I did all my vehicles.

Not sure of the company but in the early or mid 1980s a line of vehicles had quite a liability issue concerning bacteria buildups in the A/C. Made quite a few people very ill.

rocal · Sep 5, 2009

I know in buildings all over the place in Europe nowadays the AC units have to be regularly checked out to see if the spores of Legionnaire's Disease are using the place as a hang-out. Is this what they mean by "mould" over in the States?
It can't possibly be the same stuff that we get around the shower tiles, can it,Tip? You just give that a spritz with some green stuff from Sainsbury's and it's gone; it wouldn't bring on asthma, would it? Or am I talking bollix?

Rocal

I know there are loads of things that we call by the same name but they're different. For instance, my Texan daughter-in-law was in our garden over here in England and, before I could stop her walked up to a bunch of nettles and yanked them out. Needless to say she was terribly stung. We had to get some anti-histamine medication, the works. She just kept saying, "They're not what we call nettles in Texas." I suppose they mean thistles, eh?

Smell from A/C vents?

rustylogan

NickelPlate

creo

rustylogan

wpeck2

Kahbrohn

rocal

tiptronic

Kahbrohn

tiptronic

Kahbrohn

NickelPlate

wpeck2

rockymountainguy

Jayboid

rocal

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