The smell from the car air conditioner - where does it come from?! or how to clean an air conditioner. Unpleasant odor from car air conditioner Unpleasant odor from car air conditioner

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You don't have to cover your nose and put up with the weird, musty smell that comes out when you turn on the air conditioner. Most likely, plaque and mold have appeared in the air conditioning system due to high humidity. This dampness occurs naturally and is an integral part of the car, but stagnant moisture can cause mold. When air passes through the evaporator and enters the car, it raises mold spores, which feed on the moisture. Luckily, they're easy to remove, leaving your car smelling like new again.


Note: This article looks at options for dealing with musty, unnatural odors (such as old socks, wet dog, and the like). Contact a workshop immediately if there is a burning or chemical smell.

Steps

Removing odor from the air conditioning system

    Buy a disinfectant to combat plaque and mold, such as a specialized air duct cleaner. Specially formulated chemical sprays work best for strong odors, but for minor problems (or as a preventative measure), a non-hazardous disinfectant spray such as Lysol will help.

    You can also make your own natural spray from vinegar and water. Mix one part white vinegar with three parts water, then pour into an old spray bottle or solvent bottle. Although vinegar does not have the most pleasant smell, it effectively fights mold naturally and removes it quickly.

    Turn off the car, turn off the interior fan and air conditioning. Turn both switches to the off position and make sure the engine is not running.

    Spray disinfectant into each duct. Also, do not forget about the ventilation ducts located at the feet of the rear passengers, through which a large amount of air usually passes. There are also air vents on the dashboard and just below the bottom of the windshield.

    • During this, the car doors must be closed. It is necessary to ensure that all the disinfectant liquid enters the system.
  1. Start the car, turn on the air conditioning system and fan speed to full power. This will start air circulation and solve the problem of cleaning the air ducts. For best result The fan should be kept at maximum speed.

    Find the recirculation vent and spray a large amount of product into it; The air conditioner should be running during this. The location of the channel can be found in the vehicle's owner's manual. It is usually located near the driver's side footwell, near the dashboard, or in the trunk. A small button on the dashboard, with arrows pointing inside the circle, stops the flow of air from outside into the car, and instead turns on the recirculation mode inside the cabin. Press the button if there is one, and then spray the product into the vent to distribute the cleaning fluid throughout the entire system.

    Switch the air conditioning mode from "maximum" to maximum ventilation mode. It is necessary to obtain a strong air flow, which should not be too cold. This prevents additional moisture condensation.

    If the smell remains, contact a specialist. Don't ignore the scent if it doesn't go away. Nothing will be resolved by itself. Take your car to a professional who can determine that the odor is not the cause of something more serious and can deal with the problem before it becomes more than just a bad odor.

Do you smell an unpleasant odor from your air conditioner? So it's time to disinfect it.

A modern car is no longer a luxury, but a means of comfortable transportation. The filling of the car provides for all sorts of situations: from safe parking to creating a microclimate inside the cabin. Today, almost every car coming off the production line is equipped with air conditioning systems or climate control.
Scientists have established a clear connection between the environment inside a car and driving safety and have come to the conclusion that the most comfortable temperature for a person’s well-being is 20-22 degrees, and the humidity level is 30-50%. At temperatures above 30 degrees, a person’s reaction slows down.

And on a hot day you can get heatstroke: therefore, before getting into a car that has been in the sun for a long time, it is better to open the windows and doors, blow out the hot air and only then start driving.

Provide comfort mode Only the air conditioning system can drive in hot weather.

If you feel that the air conditioner has become colder, this is the first sign that it is time to diagnose and eliminate malfunctions in the air conditioning system.

However, there are also situations when it cools normally, but when you turn on the air conditioner you feel an unpleasant odor. Most often it occurs due to accumulated bacteria and fungi. Breathing them is both uncomfortable and harmful - they can cause allergies and colds. Help fix this problem special products for servicing vehicle air conditioning systems.


Air conditioner cleaners contain a special package of detergent additives that eliminates various contaminants, including bacteria and fungi.


The air conditioner cleaner provides a pleasant smell, preventing the appearance of unpleasant odor.


By eliminating bacteria and fungi, allergic reactions are also prevented.


Household air conditioning system cleaners are easy to use. Let's look at the example of the Airco-Fresh cleaner. trademark“Wynns” (this product was created on the basis of the professional cleaning product Airco Clean Set (Double Treatment) PN 60605, which consists of two products: Airco Clean PRE WASH and Airco Clean ANTISEPTIC. However, this product can only be used at service stations equipped with a special equipment. Therefore, in 2001, the manufacturer began to produce Airco Fresh PN30202 in a convenient aerosol package. Of course, its characteristics are weaker than the professional product, but with periodic use (once a year) it is fully justified).


Suitable for use in all air conditioning systems, whether equipped with a dust filter or not. If there is a dust filter, remove it.


The first method of application is through the engine compartment.


Remove the dust filter (Fig. 1).


Set automatic mode and maximum fan speed (Fig. 4).


Set the temperature control to the cold air position (Fig. 3), but you must turn off the air conditioner (Fig. 2). For automatic systems climate control, set the temperature regulator to the minimum position and turn on the “ECO” mode if possible, or turn off the air conditioning (Fig. 2). (See vehicle operating instructions.)


Shake the product thoroughly before use.


Spray the cleaner into the air conditioner air intake

(most often it is located in engine compartment on the passenger side) (Fig. 1).


Spray the product for 3 minutes at intervals of 3 seconds.

The second method of application is through the salon.


Install air outlet only through the central air duct.


Turn on the air recirculation mode and set the fan speed to maximum (Fig. 4 and 5).


Set the temperature control to the cold air position (Fig. 3), but you must turn off the air conditioner. For automatic climate control systems, set the temperature control to the minimum position and turn on the “ECO” mode if possible, or turn off the air conditioning (Fig. 2). (See vehicle operating instructions.)


Shake the product thoroughly.


Place the can in the area of ​​the strongest air intake and spray the product for 1 minute. More often than not, this air intake is located under the dashboard on the passenger side (Fig. 6).


After 10 minutes you can use the air conditioner.

Disinfection of the air conditioner evaporator and car interior!

Often, owners of car air conditioners have to deal with such a problem as a terrible smell. When you turn on the car air conditioner, along with the cooled air, the “aroma” of either rotted rags or vegetable base enters the car interior. In such cases, they usually say that there is a fungus in the air conditioner.

An evaporator is the same radiator, only small, and the air passes through it and is cooled. Along with the air, especially if there is no cabin air microfilter in front of the evaporator, poplar fluff, dust and dirt are sucked in from the street. Since the evaporator is icy when the air conditioner is running, moisture condenses on it, and it is constantly wet (this moisture is drained through the drainage to the street). Have you tried leaving a rag undried? The stink will go away in 2 days. So here, if you look at the evaporator of a car that has been traveling around Moscow for several years, and which does not have this very microfilter, you will be horrified!

When you turn off the air conditioning, the evaporator begins to heat up and releases into the cabin a whole bouquet of aromas flavored with tropical humid air. But now you start the car again, and again press the air conditioning button. In the first minutes, for some - seconds of operation, until the evaporator has cooled down properly, you get air into the cabin no worse than in a sauna. And as it cools and cools, the odors go away completely or become almost unnoticeable.

If you smoke in the cabin with the air conditioning on and the recirculation mode on, you will end up smelling like an ashtray. After all, in addition to everything else, tobacco smoke also settles on the outer walls of the evaporator. It happens that the ill-fated fluff clogs the drains of the system. In these cases, the lower part of the evaporator simply floats in the condensate, and the cabin fan blows not only air into you, but also water.

What to do in such cases? If the drain is clogged, it needs to be cleaned. This is clear even without our prompting. But if in addition to the problems described above there is also the fact that the air flow into the cabin is weak, then this is most likely the same problem with a clogged evaporator or cabin air filter. It is advisable to change this filter every year.

A bad smell in the car interior is not the only problem that comes from a dirty evaporator. Some types of bacteria that colonize dirty air conditioner evaporators pose a serious threat to human health.

Of course, you shouldn’t panic and run to the doctors, but it’s better to keep the evaporator clean. As they say, God protects those who are careful.

How to protect yourself and your car from all of the above. It is clear that especially advanced cases Only dismantling the air conditioner evaporator and its subsequent mechanical cleaning will help. Therefore, in order to keep the evaporator clean, it is necessary to disinfect it regularly, at least once a year.

We offer disinfection of the air conditioner evaporator, and for one, disinfection of the entire car interior using an air conditioning service unit Wynns Aircomatic And special liquid Airco-Clean® Ultrasonic for Cars

The instructions for classic type air conditioners (not climate control) contain instructions on how to avoid unpleasant odors from the air conditioner, however, few people pay attention to this. It is recommended that before turning off the engine, turn on the interior heating to full for a couple of minutes to dry the air conditioner evaporator from water condensation. As you know, it is the water condensate on the evaporator that creates conditions for the growth of bacteria, hence the unpleasant odor from the air conditioner.

We’ll talk about how to get rid of the unpleasant smell from the air conditioner when the car owner, out of ignorance, neglected the instructions. The simplest thing is to come to the service center and tell us about the problem. The intervention of professionals will permanently eliminate the unpleasant odor and lighten your wallet by several thousand rubles. How do they work? There is nothing particularly complicated about professional cleaning, but the procedure is quite labor-intensive. It is necessary to provide access to the air conditioner evaporator in order for the effect of the cleaner (antibacterial liquid) to be as effective as possible. Often, to get to the evaporator, partial disassembly of the front panel of the car is necessary, and removal cabin filter mandatory in all cases. But it is possible to achieve high-quality results and eliminate unpleasant odors from the air conditioner for a long time using only high-quality multifunctional cleaning solutions.

For professional use Liqui Moly offers the latest two-component disinfectant solution Klima-Anlagen-Reiniger 2K with cleaning functions and, most importantly, water repellent effect. That is, after using the drug, not only will all pathogenic bacteria and fungi be destroyed, but water will not accumulate on the evaporator, which will significantly increase the duration of the cleaning effect. Klima-Anlagen-Reiniger 2K is a new product, but has already received approval for use from Jaguar & Land Rover, confirming high quality product. The advantage of professional cleaning is the long-lasting effect, the odor problem goes away for at least six months, you breathe fresh air.

However, when cleaning your air conditioner from unpleasant odors and bacteria, you can do without the help of professionals. Liqui Moly has custom products that are easy to use. There is no need to partially disassemble the car. In order to remove the unpleasant smell from the air conditioner, the car itself, or rather its ventilation system, will help. It is enough to place an aerosol can of Liqui Moly Klimafresh in the cabin, in the recirculation air intake area (usually in the front passenger’s feet) and turn on the ventilation system in recirculation mode. Next, the ventilation system will do everything itself; the aerosol from the cylinder will pass through the air conditioner evaporator, air ducts and the car interior itself. All pathogenic microorganisms will be destroyed in 10 minutes, which is how long the composition from the balloon is sprayed. A pleasant perfume aroma will remain in the salon. For details on how to use Liqui Moly Klimafresh, see the product label or product description on our website.

Using Klimafresh will bring a noticeable effect; you will immediately feel fresh air and the absence of odors, although of course it is worth noting that the effect of professional cleaning will be slightly higher.

This is due to the fact that when an automobile refrigeration unit operates, water condensate inevitably forms on the evaporator. Its appearance, in addition to purely practical benefits, also has negative side- in conditions of constant humidity on the evaporator they begin to actively multiply. The minimal harm that in most cases we experience from such forced “neighborhood” is the putrid smell that appears in the cabin when the fan is turned on. But, as practice shows, you can get it.

It is not difficult to avoid such “surprises” - you just need to promptly carry out deodorizing treatment of the air ducts of the ventilation system and the air conditioner evaporator. Moreover, currently such a procedure can be performed

yourself, and obviously cheaper than in a professional service center. Especially when you consider that today on our market you can find a variety of drugs for preventive treatment automotive system conditioning. AvtoVzglyad experts evaluated one of these products in practice - an express air conditioner air freshener.

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So, let us repeat, several types are produced today for independent use, with the help of which even a novice car enthusiast can easily carry out sanitary treatment of air conditioning ducts. For example, a series of various antimicrobial drugs is offered by the German company Liqui Moly. Of the range of products it produces, our experts were especially interested in the Klima Fresh Plus aerosol air freshener for express cleaning of the air conditioner.

According to experts, with this spray the procedure for cleaning a car refrigeration unit is the simplest and most accessible for most car enthusiasts. Experts were convinced of this from their own experience by using the Klima Fresh Plus air freshener in one of the editorial machines. The main points of processing with this freshener are as follows. First, the air conditioner is turned on at full power, and the interior is switched to internal ventilation mode. Next, a can of cleaner using special valve switch to constant spray mode and place on the floor under dashboard, closer to the cabin air intake.

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After this, all the salon doors must be closed immediately and wait about a quarter of an hour. This time is quite enough for, after the treatment, a stable protective film, which should subsequently prevent the proliferation of various bacteria. The driver can only ventilate.

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