How to Remove a Musty Mildew Smell From a Car's A/C
Few things are as annoying as riding around in a car that has a musty smell. The smell from mold and mildew can lower the quality of a long road trip, not to mention short drives around town or a commute to work. If you can smell the foul odor from mildew, there may be enough spores in the air to set off a sinus attack or allergic reaction. A car's air conditioning system may be the source of the offending odor. There are many steps you can take to eliminate the odor yourself and avoid costly bills from a professional car cleaner or detailing service.
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Things You'll Need
- Cotton swabs
- Window cleaner
- Rubbing alcohol
- Anti-microbial spray
- Biological odor eliminator
- Commercial air conditioner cleaner spray
- Vacuum cleaner
- Carpet shampoo
- Disinfectant
- Ozone generator
Instructions
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Turn on your car's air conditioner and smell the air blowing out of the inside vents. If you detect a stinky, musty or rotten-egg-like smell only when the air conditioning system is operating, then it's contaminated by mildew -- a type of mold. Park your car outside on a dry, breezy, sunny day. Open the hood and roll down all the windows to ventilate and dry out the entire car.
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Dry your air conditioner's evaporator, or cooling element by blowing a hair dryer into the fresh-air intake. Try to eliminate any excess moisture from condensation that will provide a home for growing mildew. Roll down the windows and run the heater with the fan turned all the way up to dry out the vent system. Dip a cotton swab in the window cleaner or rubbing alcohol and wipe down the vents to kill any living mildew that had migrated from the evaporator.
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Coat the air conditioner's air-cooling coil with an acrylic-based anti-microbial spray that repels water and destroys the habitat of moisture-loving mildew. Prevent the mildew from getting established so that it can't spread its offensive odor to the rest of the car. Spray an anti-microbial or enzyme based biological odor eliminator directly into the exterior air-intake vents to kill the mildew and its associated odor. Treat all the interior vents with the product.
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Check your car's pollutant-removing filter canister, if there's one attached to your air conditioning unit. Switch off the air conditioner's blower fan and spray a commercial air conditioner cleaner product into the interior vents. Run the blower full blast to distribute the cleaner, then turn on the air conditioner and let it run for 5 to 10 minutes.
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Remove residual musty mildew odor from the car's air conditioner that has spread to the car's interior. Vacuum the carpet, upholstery and headliner thoroughly. Shampoo the carpet to remove persistent mildew smells. Fog or spray the car's interior with a disinfectant to kill any mildew mold that may have grown from spores expelled by the air conditioner. Run an ozone generator inside the car with the windows up if the smell persists.
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Tips & Warnings
Run the blower fan with the heater on at the end of the day to help dry the vehicle's air conditioning system.
Avoid heavily scented products, as their smell can be as overpowering as the mildew's.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
