Most car owners often complain of experiencing a distinct odor in their vehicle as soon they turn on the air conditioner of the car. Since most of the times even the best air fresheners fail to remove the musty or stale smell from the car, taking a look as to what causes the bad smell in the car conditioner will help remove the smell form the source. Listed below are some of the common causes that can cause the air conditioner of your car to smell bad.
Car Air conditioner Odor: Causes
#1: Bacterial Growth
One of the reasons that cause the distinct smell in your car air conditioner whenever it is turned on is due to the growth of mold in your air vents. The mildew smell in the vehicle may be caused due to growth of bacteria. The growth of bacteria can be caused if the air conditioner is not used quite often. In addition, turning on your car air conditioner to the maximum can cause excess water to drip to your unit causing bacterial growth. The development of these bacteria at the back the dash panel causes an unpleasant odor to emit from the air conditioner unit of the car. In fact, as the odor permeates within the car interiors, it is absorbed in the carpets and seats of the car, making the interiors of your car stink. To fix bad smell problem in the car caused due to the growth of bacteria, find the drain tube in you’re the air conditioner unit and ensure that is working properly. To get rid of bacteria behind your dash panel, use an anti bacterial treatment.
#2: Gas Leak
If you car smells like gas, it is most probable that your car has a gas leak. When there is a gas leakage in your car, the smell of gas is sucked in the fresh air taken by the air conditioner, causing your car to smell like gas. To fix gas smell problem in car, it is important that you take steps to repair the leak. Different areas in your car are required to be checked to detect the gas leak. Check the fuel pressure regular and the fuel injector “O” rings of your engine to see if there are any leaks. It is also highly recommended that you check muffler and exhaust pipes for any holes that can cause gas leaks.
#3: Water Condensation
When the air conditioner system of your car is used, it builds up water condensation that settles in the evaporator core housing of the car and cause stagnation. As a result, a mildew type of odor is experienced whenever the air conditioner of the car is turned on. To solve this problem, it is also recommended that switch of the air conditioner of your car and allow on the fan to run for a few minutes. This will help the water on the coils of your unit to evaporate, leaving nothing to cause the bad smell in the car.
#4: Antifreeze
When you smell sweet candy coming out form your cooling system, it is most likely that your vehicle is leaking coolant or antifreeze. The leak can come from the cooling housing unit, heater core, pipe or hose or the radiator. Antifreeze can tend to become very home and begin to steam, especially if it is spraying on a hot engine or if it is running down.
To solve this problem, it is suggested that you get it checked by a car mechanic right away.
#5: Dirty Air filters
The presence of dirty air filters in your car is another reason that can cause a weird air conditioner smell. The fact that air filters tend to cause water to stagnate, collect dust mites, dirt and other harmful pollutants, it can cause bad smell whenever the air conditioner in the car is turned on. To fix car air conditioner odor caused due to dirty air filters, ensure that replace the old filter with a new one. In addition, cleaning the air filter of your air conditioner unit on a regular basis will also help get rid of bad smell from the air conditioner of your car.
#6: Cigarette smell
When you smoke in the car, the smoke of the cigarettes tends to get everything within the interiors of the cars, including the air conditioner s vents. As a result, turning on the car air conditioner can emit cigarette smell. To get rid of the cigarette smell from the car, using an enzyme based cleaning product for headliner and upholstery and shampooing the car carpets will help remove the tobacco stench. In addition, using an odor neutralizer after cleaning these areas of your car will help remove smoke smell completely in an effective way.
#7: Dead Animals
When you turn on your car air conditioner and have rotten and spoiled egg smell coming out of the air vents, it is most likely that there is a dead animal inside the air duct. Animals like rats, squirrels, chipmunks often tend to build their nest in the dash area and engine compartment especially in the duct work or blower motor. Since most of the animals that get trapped inside the motor die and start decomposing, turning on your air conditioner can cause a pungent odor whenever you turn on your car air conditioner.
To get rid of the bad smell from the car caused due to dead animals, remove the dead animal and take out the blower motor assembly and clean all the parts with water, soap and bleach. This will help disinfect the area completely and help get rid of the bad smell from car air conditioner.
Fixing the root cause of the problem that causes bad smell when you turn on your car air conditioner is essential to get rid of the odor completely from your vehicle. However, buying a spray designed especially for cleaning heating systems and air conditioners in vehicles will also help eliminate odor and purify the air. Using the spray directly inside the air conditioner vents and into the exterior air intake vents will help get rid of the weird air conditioner smell from your car and prevent it from returning back.