Hi, any suggestions for cleaning out the air vents on a 1998 Legacy sedan?

I bought the car back in January so these past few days are the first occasions I had to use the A/C. This morning, after some pretty heavy rain the night before, I started it up and there was a bad smell coming out of the air vents...kind of a cross between horse manure and mold..not good!!

 

Anyway, just wondering if anyone had any suggestions or tips before I rip the whole dash apart.

 

Thanks

 

Ed

You have mold...I know nothing short of bleach that will kill mold. It is a very bad problem and a difficult one to solve as even one surviving mold spore will recolonize the entire system. This may be the reason someone sold the car.

My mechanic uses a kit/apparatus from BG (I think) and it comes with a fluid that is used to completely saturate the ducts and supposedly get rid of the stench. I also saw something on Motorweek on PBS a couple years ago saying that many shops have kits available to reduce or eliminate the stench in your air ducts.

I used odor-ban, a liquid odor destroyer before with great results.

 

Make sure your A/C drain tube is not plugged.

These things may mask the smell but if they don't kill the mold spores what's the point. Personally I wouldn't want to be breathing in mold all day esp. in the tight confines of an automobile.

http://www.moldinspector.com/car_and_van_mold.htm

 

Check out that link for some mold removal tips