[Wolf 335]

Great work to all contributing members.

I’m just curious why no one tried Ozone treatment?

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Great work to all contributing members.

I’m just curious why no one tried Ozone treatment?

that will mask things only inside car like seats, carpet and etc, odor is coming from evaporator, so it is best to clean evaporator not just masking interior with chemicals. There are side effects too

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

that will mask things only inside car like seats, carpet and etc, odor is coming from evaporator, so it is best to clean evaporator not just masking interior with chemicals. There are side effects too

My understanding was that ozone treatment does not mask but rather eliminate any bacteria, mold, smells and so on.

It converts oxygen molecule (O2) into ozone (O3). You leave the machine in the car and put the ac system on recirculate. It gets into every nook and cranny.

What are the side effects you are referring to?

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

My understanding was that ozone treatment does not mask but rather eliminate any bacteria, mold, smells and so on.

It converts oxygen molecule (O2) into ozone (O3). You leave the machine in the car and put the ac system on recirculate. It gets into every nook and cranny.

What are the side effects you are referring to?

you must be right but this is what I think....

recirculating chemicals is masking things, it wont clean evaporator. the problem here is dirty evaporator which needs direct cleaning, either by foam or disassembling and taking it out.

[SHEEDI]

bad odor smell is coming from evaporator and it needs direct cleaning.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

you must be right but this is what I think....

recirculating chemicals is masking things, it wont clean evaporator. the problem here is dirty evaporator which needs direct cleaning, either by foam or disassembling and taking it out.

There is no cleaning chemicals involved with Ozone.

Read up on how ozone works. I can be effecting for evaporator cleaning.

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

There is no cleaning chemicals involved with Ozone.

Read up on how ozone works. I can be effecting for evaporator cleaning.

Thanks, sounds good, not my evaporator and its not BMW e90, just a random picture for reference.

how would Ozone treatment will clean this dirty evaporator

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

Thanks, sounds good, not my evaporator and its not BMW e90, just a random picture for reference.

how would Ozone treatment will clean this dirty evaporator

Ozone will not remove physical contaminants.

But I think that is an extreme case.

[robthewrench]

Where I work, we use an ozone sanitizing machine for clothing. It can help kill bacteria, but the way it works is by exposing the bacteria to a high concentration of ozone for a period of time. I would doubt it would be effective for the evaporator unless it were highly targeted and the ozone was kept from dispersing into the air. I don't think putting an ozone generator in the car would get the saturation high enough in the evaporator.

As a note, ozone is also poisonous to people. Most portable ozone generators create very low concentrations.

The one we use at work in in an enclosed area and has special controls to evacuate the ozone to the outside of the building before allowing the door to be opened.

[onemonkey]

Saw this :

Lubegard Kool-It 96030 Evaporator and Heater Foam Cleaner for sale on Amazon.ca (its just a can of the foam cleaner)

Quote from its directions, is this of any relievance to an easy access to the "smelly bits"? Or this this just over simplifying the procedure?

When used as directed, Kool-It evaporator and heater foam cleaner is released into the HVAC system through an easy to find drain plug (it's where the water from your AC drips out under the car).

[DrVille]

I finally got rid of the musty smell from my air conditioner.
I used a can of Klima Clean to clean the mold and mildew. I removed the blower motor from under the glove box and sprayed the foam directly into the evaporator housing.
It was a pretty quick and easy DIY job that took about 20 minutes and a torx screwdriver.
Here is a link to my YouTube video that shows how I did it:

[Seattlesquash]

Originally Posted by DrVille

I finally got rid of the musty smell from my air conditioner.
I used a can of Klima Clean to clean the mold and mildew. I removed the blower motor from under the glove box and sprayed the foam directly into the evaporator housing.
It was a pretty quick and easy DIY job that took about 20 minutes and a torx screwdriver.
Here is a link to my YouTube video that shows how I did it:

Well done, very organized and clear DIY! Thanks, and on my list to do!

[ckanderson]

Benz had this issue on a bunch of cars when I worked for them. At the end the fix was keeping the recirculate flap open when the car was off. This dries the evaporator and solved the problem completely

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by DrVille

I finally got rid of the musty smell from my air conditioner.
I used a can of Klima Clean to clean the mold and mildew. I removed the blower motor from under the glove box and sprayed the foam directly into the evaporator housing.
It was a pretty quick and easy DIY job that took about 20 minutes and a torx screwdriver.
Here is a link to my YouTube video that shows how I did it:

Thanks!

[atmosphericM]

Those of you that have this issue.. do you smell it all of the time? My BMW has an odd characteristic but I figured it was just normal / part of the "charm." I rarely use my A/C. I never smell anything while my fans are on (no a/c), or when I'm using my a/c. However, for a few minutes after I turn off my a/c (before I stop the engine), there will a damp odd smell that comes out of the vents. Sometimes it will still be there for a minute next time I start the car (fan on, a/c off), but it never lasts for more than a minute or two. I'm not the original owner and I have no idea how the previous owners used the a/c.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

Those of you that have this issue.. do you smell it all of the time? My BMW has an odd characteristic but I figured it was just normal / part of the "charm." I rarely use my A/C. I never smell anything while my fans are on (no a/c), or when I'm using my a/c. However, for a few minutes after I turn off my a/c (before I stop the engine), there will a damp odd smell that comes out of the vents. Sometimes it will still be there for a minute next time I start the car (fan on, a/c off), but it never lasts for more than a minute or two. I'm not the original owner and I have no idea how the previous owners used the a/c.

Exactly same thing here. I have been using it recently a "lot" since it's summer and at the start always that hot musky werid smell air that goes away after 30s to 1 minute.

[ckanderson]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

Those of you that have this issue.. do you smell it all of the time? My BMW has an odd characteristic but I figured it was just normal / part of the "charm." I rarely use my A/C. I never smell anything while my fans are on (no a/c), or when I'm using my a/c. However, for a few minutes after I turn off my a/c (before I stop the engine), there will a damp odd smell that comes out of the vents. Sometimes it will still be there for a minute next time I start the car (fan on, a/c off), but it never lasts for more than a minute or two. I'm not the original owner and I have no idea how the previous owners used the a/c.

No, that's how it is. Smells like gym socks for a minute or so and then stops

[MEN54]

Originally Posted by accel

So some time ago I noticed some pretty bad smell coming out of vents which later on proved to be evaporator bacteria\mold buildup. But since I never had this issue before with either of my previous cars, it got (much) worse before I decided to do anything.

If you google on e90 and ac smell, you'll find a bunch of topics which eventually suggest one of the following:

1) Pay dealer to do AC system cleaning
2) Pay indy shop to do the same
3) Check drain hose for clogging
4) Replace cabin filter
5) Use spray <spray> to spray in the vent system intake (under the hood, after cabin filter removal)
6) Use foaming spray <spray with plastic hose> to inject foam into the system from the bottom of the car through the drain hose
7) Spray (6) through vents from the inside the cabin
8) Use lysol instead of spray in case of (5)
9) Disassemble the dashboard, extract the evaporator and do

I tried all things except 1, 2 and 9. I tried every spray / foam available through Amazon/Ebay for 5-8. I tried lots of lysol spray.

All sprays provided only temporary solution. I guess they just masked the smell for several weeks. Instead I had to inhale chemicals included in respective version of the spray. Actually, I think the spray might help if you are proactive and spray immediately after you notice initial weak symptoms.

So, here's what I did today (yes, just today, so the smell might return), but at least I had complete understanding of what I was doing, and I believe, if I repeat the process several times, it will, probably solve the issue, and, it was actually relatively easy to do.

I was able to gain access to the evaporator from inside the cabin. I could even touch it with my fingers, and my fingertips' smell left no doubt as to what's causing the smell.

I sprayed the evaporator with 1-2 gallons of cleaners, which all drained, which supposedly provided enough flow to get things out of evaporator.

I'll explain the process in the next several posts, so be patient.

P.S. Off course, as usual, - if you do it, you do everything at your own risk....

Did smell ever came back? i have an issue when i turn off AC and fan is on , it smells bad, it doesnt smells bad when AC is on, only when fan i son, i dont know where to look. i already cleaned evaporator core.

[tomgwuyn]

Hi Guys,

I am facing the same issue related to the AC smell now. It is unbearable. The dealer says that it is related to the evaporator. But planning to do it in another Indy shop. Any idea how much would it cost?

[PhaseP]

You can do yourself, look at the link above for Klima Clean or similar product. For someone familiar with e90 fan removal, it would take half an hour or so from start to finish. From there you can judge how much to pay Indy shop to do.

If the smell comes back or doesn't go away after first application, apply one more time.

[mecheng77]

Guys make sure you turn your ac off a few minutes before parking and run the fan on medium with outside air

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

Guys make sure you turn your ac off a few minutes before parking and run the fan on medium with outside air

This is key!