Smelly AirCon

[Corbo]

Hi Folks,
How can I get rid of the funny smell from my 2009 B180CDI ventilation system. Any recommended procedures/products out there? Should I worry about Legionnaires' disease?
Best Regards Folk,
Jeff C.

 

[bob 6600]

Anti-bacterial clean

 

[Craiglxviii]

Spend just under a tenner in Halfrauds or online and buy an "Air Con Bombe". Basically it's a can of deodorising, antibacterial aerosol that gets sucked into the A/C system and kills off any bugs. You open all the vents, the the A/C on full with the interior recirculation set to on, set this thing going, close the doors and leave it for 20 mins. Job jobbed.

 

[oigle]

Just drying it out properly can be a benefit. When aircon is in use, there is a lot of water extracted from the air and drained out through the pipe under the dash. Unfortunately the whole evaporator unit stays wet and is a hotbed for bacteria to flourish. All you need to do is run the car without the aircon on and fresh air going through for a good period to allow it to dry properly. Should be beautiful weather there by now so you could drive for quite a while - days - without the aircon on and totally eradicate the bacteria without having to use chemicals. Can save the evaporator from rotting out too over time if you do this regularly.

Ian.

 

[JBell]

What Craig said

 

[EmilysDad]

..... Should be beautiful weather there by now ....

if only .....

 

[Morethanpolish]

For prevention, everyone needs to run their a/c at least weekly, even in winter, to tick the system over and kill off bacteria

 

[EmilysDad]

For prevention, everyone needs to run their a/c at least weekly, even in winter, to tick the system over and kill off bacteria

just press 'auto' and leave it alone

 

[Corbo]

Well folks,
Many, many thanks for all the good advice which is duly noted for future reference. I've cured the pong with a product from Wynns called Airco Pure Royal Oud. It goes off like a little 'bombe' in the passenger footwell. Takes about fifteen minutes to work completely, just enough time for me to mow the lawn. Cabin now smells like it's been parked in Yves Rocher's showroom for a month, lovely. I've also started to warm the cabin about a mile before arriving home. Hopefully that will keep it smelling sweet. Strange, though, that I've never experienced this in any other car before. Do B-class condensers have a drain I wonder? And can it become blocked? Answers on a postcard please.........
Best regards to all who offered their advice,
Jeff C.

 

[Wighty]

If you run the Aircon on a warm day and park up , you can see s small puddle under the car of water dripping from the Aircon drain .

 

[Frontstep]

I only switch mine off now and then to check everything works.
I did once get so low on diesel I switched everything off to get an extra mile per gallon or so.
Dry and cool wins the day.

 

[Painter16]

Leave mine on all the time ,don't make that much diff to petrol consumption ,my indie merc guy told me not to turn it off ,to me if your running a car like this why are ya botherd about extra bit fuel with it off,

 

[davemercedes]

I leave mine on (2007 S203) all the time (it's "climate control") so I set the temperature I want and just leave it alone.
- Although if it's been standing in heat or we suddenly get very hot weather (once every 10 years!) I can force it to blow out cooled air by turning both sides to maximum (i.e.: Past the the little "knurled" feeling).

I heard a radio chat ages ago and the "expert" was saying that the reason (apart from A/C radiator flow) you should leave it on is 1) as above postings it makes little or no difference on mpg nowadays and 2) it gives you "conditioned" air which is healthier than recirculated "fumes" etc.