How to Fix Smelly AC in Your Car Like the Pro in 3 Minutes

In this video I will show you how to remove the mildew smell in your car. Typically this is caused by using the AC in recirculation mode for long periods of time. Without fresh outside air to circulate, the recirculated air will develop a mildew musky smell. After long period of time operating your HVAC this way, the interior of the car will be very smelly due to mold and bacteria in the air duct system.

This video will show you how to clean the air duct and remove the smell. The method will only take couple minutes. You can repeat as necessary.
* If your vehicle is equipped with an in cabin air filter, you can remove it prior to performing this service. Then reinstall it afterwards.

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Buy Lysol Disinfectant Spray, Crisp Linen, 38oz (2X19oz)

You can also try using an in cabin odor eliminator spray.

Buy Odor Eliminator Spray

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[nouveauriche]

This once again proves why YouTube is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Thank you!

[kafka]

This video may be 9 years old, but man what you taught me WORKS LIKE A FRICKIN CHARM!!! I just did this now and man am I glad the that stinkin' sock smell is gone.

[ocg]

Dude, I've been trying to get rid of the foul odor for ages. I even forbode my wife to ride in the car bare feet to see if it got better. Nothing worked, until I saw your video. Thanks, worked like a charm!!!

[bmasonoh]

This totally worked!!! I had the most foul rotting fish smell coming from my AC. One treatment with the Lysol spray and the next morning the smell is completely gone. It took a total of about five minutes. You are my HERO.

[maryannpolidoro]

I had been having this problem with a mildew smell each time I used my air conditioner and couldn't figure out why until I viewed your video! Thanks to you, NO MORE MILDEW It was driving me crazy, and now it's fine, thanks again!

[GamingwithKandA]

Also, there are drains at the bottom of the air conditioning/heat vents that sometimes get plugged up and cause all of the condensation moisture to get trapped in the ducts and also rain water can get trapped. you can actually have several inches of water sitting at the bottom of your vents causing all kids of mold, mildew issues. Find out where the drains are and blast compressed air back through the vents to try and unplug them.

[alfonsolum]

Thank You for posting the simplest, cost efficient solution to this "funky smelling" problem.
Since (fabric seats) my car has had this problem for years, I've just accepted to live with it during the summer (east coast)... so, was excited to give this a try. I went a little further by also removing the cabin air filter before starting.
Thus, as explained in the video, ran thru all vent buttons (even defrost & recycle)... A/C, then Heat, then back to A/C one more time, then turn off the A/C button, but have the fan running at different speeds for a minute or two, so as to dry excess lysol.
Left it with open windows overnight and drove it today and FINALLY, no mildew smell at all. Awesome!

[msaechao]

Totally worked! Thank you! My Odyssey was smelling like dirty gym socks and I was looking for a solution, thank you for your video, I used the disinfectant Lysol and the smell went away almost immediately. My husband is amazed cause I fixed it hahaha

[dogfoose]

Another trick to keep this from happening too often, is to turn off the AC about a block or so from coming home, to let the system purge itself of all the cold air. The air will still be cold enough for a short time after it's turned off, but doing this will balance the climate within the vents, giving your system a fresh start next time.

[calil]

Your awesome for showing us an expensive product that wouldn't always be readily available and then show us a very common product that is similar and much cheaper. thank you

[goguyted]

I'm jealous of all who have seen this before me, but I'm still VERY satisfied with your help, thanks.

[enwall]

Thanks for this. Did it two years ago and worked wonders, smell has just started to return so reapplied and all ok again. Use dettol all-in-one disinfectant spray here in the UK.

[claymore]

This video really helped me a lot. I have a 2014 Hyundai Elantra and the smell had been there for a couple weeks i just never got around to fixing it. and in case anyone is wondering, I used Lysol and it worked PERFECT. Fixed the smell within minutes. Great video!

[Mauryarreygue]

Wow! You're a life saver man! I work for Uber and I needed to fix my ac-heater stinkiness like really bad! Thank you!

[jordanaldrich]

This actually works! Make sure to pull your cabin air filter first if your car has one! Also, don't go overboard. It only needs 30-45 seconds.

[PeteCarrion]

I’ve been dealing with the foul odor, for over a year worried about taking it to the shop. I will be doing this today as soon as I get home from work! I hope it works. Thank you!

[wken]

Turn off the a/c a few minutes before you stop and leave the fan on to dry out the evaporator. That way there is no moisture left to allow mold to grow.

[iamtpercent]

god bless u young man.my fix it guy says $900 to replace the entire unit vs your $5 fix. I don't know how to thank u.

[skizm_]

I did the same with ozium. It's used to reduce airborne bacteria and smoke and odor eliminator. Definitely smells better than lysol too. Has more of a fresh car scent.

[ladyjones]

This video was very helpful! I would also like to say be sure that it isn't your car battery that is causing your A/C to smell. When your battery life has reached the end...it causes corrosion. The build up of the corrosion on the battery smells really bad...like rotten eggs. Just a FYI for the people who are not really knowledgeable about cars.