How to Get Rid of the Musty Smell From Your Car’s Air Conditioner | Consumer Reports

Here's what to do when the air coming out of your vents smells like a sweaty sock 😩.

[scorpions]

No intro no extra words straight to point, this dudes a legend👑

[StalePhish]

For a more thorough job, remove the cabin air filter and then get a kit called a "evaporator & heating foam cleaner", which is like the can he had in the video, except it has a plastic tube you connect and it sprays expanding foam. But the foam inside the empty box with the air filter, right on top of the metal coils inside. Use the entire can all at once. Run the AC and the car will start puking dirty liquid out the bottom. Run it until the liquid stops flowing out, then wait overnight and put the air filters back in. It will smell weirdly clean like a dentist's office for a couple days, and then back to a neutral smell.

[doyouknoworjustbelieve]

Turn off the AC recirc button.
Roll down the windows
Remove the cabin air filter
Run the ac at low fan for at least two minutes while spraying in the disinfectant.
Stop spraying and run on high fan to clear out the disinfectant.
Replace the air filter

[filly]

The BEST way to keep your car AC from smelling moldy, mildewy, or musty is EVERY time you run your AC, before you shut off your engine, turn off the AC, make sure your cabin air is set to fresh instead of recirculate, and run the fan on high for a couple of minutes. This dries out the condensation in your car's air vents, which can get heavy if you have your cabin air set on recirculate instead of fresh when running your AC. We've got a 21-year-old Toyota Tacoma and have always done this when we run our AC and we have never had a musty smell coming out of our vents. I saw this tip on a TV show decades ago and IT WORKS!

[aconfusedazn]

Take the filter out before you spray the de-odorizer, then replace the filter

[ishaundale]

OMG!! It works!! I usually get a new cabin filter when my car starts smelling. This year was different. It happened, and I got the filter replaced in March. It didn't help, so I got another one in June. It didn’t help, so Volvo flushed the a/c evaporator or something. It didn’t work, and they just flushed it twice last week and upgraded the cabin filter brand. I have purchased more air freshers and a car air purifier. It smells better, but there is still a faint musty scent. I just watched this video, sprayed Lysol, and got back in the car. I can smell the Lysol. Lifesaver!!! #SmallHacks Thank you. I spent between $1200 and $1500 in the last seven months. All I needed was this video.❤

[holmiumh]

Thanks, love this type of lifehack info.

[User]

Thank you! I’m sitting in my car during my break right now and it’s been driving me nuts. Definitely will give this a shot when I get home.

[gabrielsader]

Thank you so much, it worked instantly. It only took 2 minutes

[SegaCDUniverse]

Thank you. I used disinfectant in the plenums and changed the filter!

[mikejones]

wish I saw this a few months back spent over $100 for a Ford dealership to change my cabin filter n still had a smell took it back they said mold on the ac $2700 job 😮

[louislopez]

I’ve used this technique on a couple of my vehicles. It worked, but it was always very temporary. I forget, did he mention you are supposed to leave the recirculation button off when the vehicle is parked so the system can breathe and dry out?

[jacobyo]

People need to stop running it on recirculate all the time

[ItsAlive]

Mercedes were prone to stinky AC. My Honda Accord, Ram 1500 truck, Infiniti QX60, Toyota 4Runner never had this issue, but my old GLE350 had a stinky AC within 30k miles

[justjules]

I was still nervous to do this even with this and a couple other videos.

[BLACKWOLF-]

My v.w doesn't have vents below the windshield under the hood. Is there another place I can spray lysol? Behind cabin filter?

[lanaj]

Both of our Toyotas get a nasty, musty smell. It's a known issue. If you have a Toyota, turn off recirculate often to fix the smell. I'm not sure if they've fixed the issue since the 2019 models as our cars are older than this.

[mytourandtaste]

Can you help me I have vw touran 2017 yesterday I switched on my car ac and then I saw water coming out of air vents would you know what could be the problem or reason let me know thanks

[Ryany]

Thanks got a year old Toyota, just what i needed to know

[stevenbrice]

Also, when spraying the Lysol from outside make sure the recirculate button is off. This will pull fresh air in and not cabin air. When you have recirculate on you’re pulling cabin air instead of outside air. Do not use the recirculate button for a day after doing this.