Air Con Damp Spell

[mcyates]

My air con is startnig to smell damp. When i have it runnin you cant notice it straight away but when you get out the car then get back in it really does stink of dampnes.

 

[Alan]

It maybe needing re-gassed mate....what mileage has the car done?

 

[mcyates]

18,000 miles

 

[Ali]

Faulty, its a 182, canny be that old.

 

[mcyates]

its only 1 year old though?

 

[Middo]

needs cleaning after 12 months using a can of forte air conditoning cleaner, which is basically sprayed into the air and then you leave the air con running for 10 mins. the smell is due to the formation of bacteria. 25quid ish for a bottle

the air con wont need regassing until it is three years old, and should be around 60-80.

 

[Turkish]

Gassing will only effect how cold it gets and providing its been used on a regular basis it shouldnt need gassing for some time. They only leak gas if the A/C isnt used as the oil in the system doesnt get circulated and the orings and seals dry and shrink back.

Smell can be removed either by using the method Middo suggested or getting a can of foam anti bac from renault or an A/C specialist. Comes with a long nozzle you poke into the airvents and spray into the heaterbox.

 

[tumbleweed]

I had the same problem in my 172 from 35000 miles, although i used the aircon daily, the damp smell was noticable...

So I bought one of those Comma air con spray cans from Halfords and followed the instructions and the smell went away

 

[DAVE_RSi]

same as above, used comma air spray thing, left aircon on for 10 mins while it sprayed it, smelly socks smell gone

smell can come aswell if its not used all that much, i.e for at least 10-15 mins each week

 

[Day]

I used the foam stuff from Renault - £12 a can

1st time I used it was fine but the second time the foam leaked into my head unit and rendered it useless!

 

[fizzy_drink]

Yup... use the comma stuff..



And change your air filter: itll have horrible things growing on it