Bleaching the ducts

[Strahan]

I have a mildew smell that comes from my ductwork when the air is off. Annoying as hell. I've emptied a whole can of Febreeze into the system to no avail. I just decided to try the 1:10 bleach spray method I saw on e38.org. Started the car, put it on max a/c, covered my vents with old towels (I'm paranoid about getting bleach in my interior, heh) then sprayed away in the intakes.

Question I had was, how long should I let it "percolate"? E38.org didn't specify. I let it idle after spray on max a/c for about 3-4 minutes then shut it down. Think that's good enough? I'm hoping this works, I hate mildew smell. I'd rather smell the bleach, lol.

Speaking of which, it's funny how odor can trigger memory. When I smelled the bleach spray, it made me recall swimming class at my old middle school. I guess they bleached the walks around the pool. Gave me a chuckle :)

[amschnellsten]

I need to do that... my car smells like a fish market!http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sick006.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[Skinny Puppy]

My car smells like an asian woman. Its kind of good, but kind of bad. Its only after the AC has been on for a long time. Once I turn it off and use the normal vents the smell comes through. It only shows up after really long AC use. Kind of odd.

Perhaps try this if the bleach doesnt work. Also make sure your filters are new as well since it could contribute to the smell.

http://autoglym.com/enGB/product-proddetail.asp?v06VQ=FFLH&Range=1

I <3 Autoglym.

[cazal740i]

bleach the air ducts?....remove the dash and flip it and remove the air ducts and wash em...Very easy.... also each air vent ......Ive done this and also change air filters on the hood and also the cabin air filters....After all that u will get smell of nature espec when ur driving thru the woods.....

[meteck]

I would do filters first, especially the cabin, lol. BTW, I've notice on every car I've ever owned that when you turn off the AC (esp when on recirc) that you get a strange odor. Even on new cars.:eek:

[randomdude]

umm, won't bleach corrode the evaporator?

[redpicker]

I don't know about using bleach. Bleach tends to make metal rust, and rusting from the inside of your A/C system seems, at least to me, to be a bad thing.

I know it's too late for Strahan (and I do hope everything works out well), but for others who might want to try this, why not try Provodone Iodine instead of bleach. You can get it at the drug store. It is iodine-based (surprise) instead of chlorine-based, so it isn't as corrosive. Same concentration should do fine.

You can also use Iodophor, it's basically the same thing. I use them interchangeably to sanitize my beer-making equipment since chlorine residue can leave a nasty taste in beer, while the iodine is unnoticeable.

rp

[suprchgd99rango]

I need to do that... my car smells like a fish market!http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sick006.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)



tell ur girl to close her legs!:shifty

[Pedro Rabie]

In my case the only solution was to replace the filters located under the hood.

Regards

Pedro

PD: To say "My car smells like an asian woman" is racism. Was really necessary???...:nono

[Strahan]

Ahh, well, regarding bleach being bad I'll keep my fingers crossed hehe. I totally forgot filters, that's a good idea. I'll have to do that too.

Thanks guys :)

[audiavant]

Lysol works GR8 IIRC.......+ theres different fragrances to choose from.....no need for bleach. Hope this helps

[pizzaman09]

Every time I get in my e38 it reminds be of new car smell. I associate new car smell as the same smell as leather. Both e38s I have had smelled like that but the 98 was a lot stronger smelling than the 01.

[mpower5266]

Lysol works GR8 IIRC.......+ theres different fragrances to choose from.....no need for bleach. Hope this helps

This, I did it every now and then when I detailed.

[Strahan]

Lysol was the first thing I tried actually, gave it a few shots but didn't like the odor it left behind. That's when I switched to Febreeze. Should've tried the ones with fragrance I guess, heh.

[nah2323]

how about ozium? dont bleach anything. Bleach will smell like, um, bleach. duh.

[Kiyoskia]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T6IVJWl6jE&feature=related

[AwesomeIsLuke]

I used the bleach mixture method as well when I first got my E38. It worked really well. You get that chlorine smell for a few days but it clears out. The reason bleach is used and not febreze or lysol is the anti-fungal/anti-bacterial properties. You aren't necessarily trying to kill the smell, you are trying to kill what is causing the smell, which is often due to mold in the air ducts.

[Qsilver7]

For those that have issues with the musty odor from AC...once you kill off the microbes...you can prevent the conditions that give them birth by using your VENT ON feature when you get to your destination.

The musty odor comes from microbes growing in the moist dark conditions your HVAC system supplies them. When conditions are such that the humidity and temps are high enough to create a lot of condensate...when you go to turn off the car and you have the ignition in position 2 or 1...press the "clock-face" icon which will bring up the timer features of the OBC. If you have the NAV screen...you'll have to refer to your manual..I have no clue how those things work. :)

The VENT ON feature will run for 30 minutes (unless you come back start up the car) then turn off...which will help "dry out" the HVAC system.


http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/MID%20Timer%20functions.jpg

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/MID%20Timer%20Pic.jpg

[Strahan]

how about ozium? dont bleach anything. Bleach will smell like, um, bleach. duh.

At this point, I'd welcome the smell of bleach to the mold lol.

[audiavant]

You should also turn off the "snowflake" several minutes before you arrive @ your destination IIRC. THat will help to dry out the system. Hope this helps