Re: Mold in Vehicle A/C System

[Guest guest]

Rosie,

There a couple of products that can be sprayed onto the cooling coil

from the interior passenger side of the car through a hole that is

drilled into the plastic AC case. These products usually contain

isopropyl alcohol, detergent and fragrance (but check the MSDS).

If you cannot tolerate the fragrance, forget it, though this

treatment can make a difference for a while. A better solution that

is much more expensive ($300-$400 I believe) is removing the entire

unit and having it cleaned by hand.

There are two coils in the HVAC system, one for heating that operates

off the hot radiator water and another just in front of it for

cooling, that operates off the AC compressor. Most of the

biodegradable debris (plant materials, spores, etc.) collects on the

cooling coil since it is first in the air flow. This dust then gets

wet when the coil is operating, and all the dust is degraded by

bacteria, yeast and mold. That's the odor when the system first

turns on.

I find that there is less of a problem (less accumlation of

biodegradable debris) if you only use the system in " recirculate

mode, " which means that no air is sucked in through the grill full of

dead leaves at the engine hood.

Unfortunately, very few manufacturers make cars with filters for the

HVAC system. In my opinion, this is insane, since it is inevitable

that the systems will become contaminated. (There would be less of a

problem if the heating coil were first and the debris settled there,

since this coil is never wet, but in order for the defrost system to

operate in the winter, the cooling coil must dehumidify the air that

is circulated, so the air must hit the cold coil first.)

May

www.myhouseiskillingme.com

May Indoor Air Investigaitons LLC

Cambridge, MA

> My vehicle is beginning to emit a mold odor whenever I turn on the

A/C

> system. Saturday I had a long drive and began to effect me. I

just called

> the dealership to have it serviced and am wondering if you all can

recommend

> anything that the mechanics could use to kill the mold in the

system. I'm

> not a mechanic but was told by the dealership this is not unusual

and they

> can clean the system.

>

> Opinions would be appreciated,

>

> Rosie

[Guest guest]

Call me crazy, but a company selling a mold control product that describes

" Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium " as bacteria is...uhhhh....not

exactly where I'm gonna be spending my money.

Must be my fungdar going off again...or was that the bs alarm?

Bill Kingsbury <b.b.bb@...> wrote:

At 01:55 PM 9/12/2005, Healthier4All wrote:

>

>My vehicle is beginning to emit a mold odor whenever I turn on the A/C

-----------------------------------------

From: " ridofmold " <getridofmold@...>

Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 02:19:41 +0000

Subject: [] You Thoughts on Cleaning a Car Air Conditioner?

http://www.airsept.com

Has anyone used Airsept Air Cooling Coil Coating, or Airsept

Evaporator Cleaner or Airsept AC Odor Shield? Do you have opinions

about the products?

ARTICLE BELOW COPIED FROM:

http://www.envirosense.org/airsept.html

Overview

Scientists at the Environmental Research Center at Georgia State

University's Department of Biology report finding several different

types of bacteria growing in vehicle air conditioning system

evaporators, including Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium

(click here to see the article, as published in the Journal of

Industrial Biology and Microtechnology).

Serena

www.freeboards.net/index.php?mforum=sickgovernmentb

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[Guest guest]

> > Unfortunately, very few manufacturers make cars with filters

> > for the HVAC system. In my opinion, this is insane, since it

> > is inevitable that the systems will become contaminated.

Most cars intake for air is under the dash, and a filter can be tucked up there.

> Since I have this ozone generator they would take back, I blasted my car for

about an

hour with the a/c running. I noticed it was a little better and I blasted it

again about 5 days

ago and Sunday I drove to a city and back and it tooks six hours and I felt

okay, but I don't

feel that great to begin with.

I have used one in my cars/ house for odors with discrimination, and it did seem

to work.

As far as treating a car with a chemical freshener, I would agree with angel

that it is

unlikely to help except in the short term, and then it is most likely to cover

up the smell

with a perfume. I have a hard time with any freshener