Car Air Vent Smells like Socks

[RickyTan3]

Everytime I start the car the air that comes out the vent smells like wet old socks.

Throughout the drive it will smell again, it is not consistent.

I tried changing the air filter and smell went away for a day. WTF?!!?

Whats the most common issues and fixes?

[Spoon]

Probably mold in the A/C.

[dared3vil0]

[Splinter]

Originally Posted by RickyTan3

Whats the most common issues and fixes?

Old socks in the AC system

Remove the socks

[DiiCii]

What kind of car? By air filter you mean the cabin air filter?
Posted via RS Mobile

[FerrariEnzo]

probably the cabin filter needs changing.. did you check to see if its nasty

[sonick]

I notice it in my car shortly after I turn off the A/C.

There is a spray for it:

First turn on the ac to full, make sure the “recirculate” button is not on, spray a large amount of cleaner with odor killing enzymes into the EXTERIOR air intakes that are located just below the windshield wipers, let the car run for about 10 minutes with the ac on, after 10 minutes turn off ac and spray the cleaner into the ac vents on the INSIDE of your car. After doing all this, let the car sit for 20 minutes turned off and windows rolled up. Then repeat if the smell is still in the car. By doing this you are killing the bacteria or mold in the car ac vent ducts and also the evaporator mold that may be present.

Apparently Lysol may work too.

[RRxtar]

your car has a yeast infection. tell that bitch to goto the doctor and get herself cleaned up or you aint gonna be inside her no more.

[!SG]

OVERSEAS AUTO sold some air vent cleaning thing, its the mildew and mold in the air vents. if you havent changed the cabin filter, do so now.

what causes it is the use of a/c and water not fully dripping out of the system.
if you want to fix the problem, next time you use the a/c for a prolong time, before turning the vehicle off, turn off a/c to fresh air, and turn the heat up for a few minutes, this should dry out any moisture.

if that still doesnt fix it, you are looking at a pressurized cleaning and or even the evaporator needing to be cleaned and serviced/

[yray]

wurth spray from overseas

smoke bomb your car

Check your cars for leaks. My X3 had a leaking door seal for three years, didn't notice it because I parked indoors. But when I started parking out doors during the winter .

[jnesss]

Originally Posted by yray

wurth spray from overseas

smoke bomb your car

Check your cars for leaks. My X3 had a leaking door seal for three years, didn't notice it because I parked indoors. But when I started parking out doors during the winter .

i tried the spray, but it only helped for about a week - so don't waste your money.

i've seen some other foamy sprays that go into the actual vent (drains out the bottom of your car).

an old friend i used to work with, brought his vehicle to the shop and was told the only way to fix it, would be to drill a hole in the dash and spray some cleaner directly into the ac condenser. (correct me if i'm wrong)

don't start drilling any holes, this is just the gist of what i recall - you see, i've given up on looking for a solution.. for now anyways.

[!Tigger]

make sure if you have a cabin air filter you take it out first, or take the cabin air filter out and spray into the A/c evap core directly.

[yray]

Originally Posted by jnesss

i tried the spray, but it only helped for about a week - so don't waste your money.

i've seen some other foamy sprays that go into the actual vent (drains out the bottom of your car).

an old friend i used to work with, brought his vehicle to the shop and was told the only way to fix it, would be to drill a hole in the dash and spray some cleaner directly into the ac condenser. (correct me if i'm wrong)

don't start drilling any holes, this is just the gist of what i recall - you see, i've given up on looking for a solution.. for now anyways.

Worked for me

Left it with full AC on with recirculation for like 20 mins. Smoke bomb took 5 minutes to discharge anyways.

Spray won't work if you don't correct the underlying problem. It's like pouring more oil into a leaking oil pan, shit will last only for a week.