Why is there a bad smell when I turn on my car’s A/C?
Looking forward to those hot and sunny Winnipeg summer days but you notice a bad smell coming from the vents in your car when you turn on the air conditioning?
The most common reason for this musty smell is a growth of mildew, mold and bacteria in the evaporator core, resulting from excess humidity and moisture.
What causes the growth of mold, mildew and bacteria?
Have you ever wondered if you’re A/C gets ice cold? Well it does. To the point the evaporator core can develop frost as a normal byproduct of running you’re A/C. When you turn your car off, the frost melts and can leave a small amount of standing water where the bacteria, mold and mildew can grow.
After the winter and spring season the bacteria that can be brought in by snow, rain or just condensation can have bacteria from the outdoor air that gets drawn into the system through the evaporator when your air conditioning is running.
What can you do about it?
You need to eliminate the bacteria to eliminate the smell.
Once a year we recommend an A/C performance test. We will check compressor clutch engagement, drive belt condition, vent temperatures and overall system performance.
While having your car’s air conditioning serviced before the season starts ask our Frank Motors service team to include the Klima Fresh A/C Cleaner and deodorizing mist service. This service kills mold and bacteria in the heating and cooling duct system in the car.
Is Klima Fresh an Air Freshener?
Klima Fresh neutralizer is specially formulated to tackle problems due to moisture accumulation in vehicle ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Professionally designed to eliminate odors at the source instead of merely covering up foul smells, Klima Fresh brings back a clean, fresh-air smell to vehicle ventilation and AC systems.
Excellent for cigarette-smoke, mildew and mold odor removal.
Driver Tip
It’s a good idea to run your air conditioning from time to time even if it isn’t hot outside! Running the A/C occasionally, allows the seals and hoses to stay lubricated so they don’t dry out and start to crack.