Wet dog in vents????

[Sam Sammons]

Every time I turn on my ST's ac after sitting in the heat, it smells like a wet dog in the vents.. My wife is pregnant and wants to puke every time i turn it on. Any suggestions on how to remedy the problem.. Is there a filter in the system anywhere.. Please help me out.. It smells down right NASTY

 

[Mark S 3]

Something like that happened to my brother years ago. It ended up being a mouse nest in the intake for the heater blower. The moment the engine would start to heat up a bit, Peee-ue! You might want to poke around under the hood to make sure there's no unwanted visitors :blink:

 

[Tom Schindler]

Autozone sells a disinfectent you spray into the air vent to kill the bacteria causing the smell. Just turn your AC on in the normal position (not the high position because that recirculates the cabin air, the normal takes in outside air), and spray it into the the black grill between the hood and windshield. It will make everything smell great. You can smell the stuff inside the vehicle.





Tom

 

[Teddy GreeneII]

Sam, had that years ago but it was the same deal as Statik's brother. Had a field mouse.

 

[Frank Marano]

Ozium

 

[John Mastrocco]

Moisture left in the system when running the A/C causes the smell - it's mildew.



Turn the A/C off at couple of minutes before you stop and you will either significantly reduce or even eliminate the odor (depending on the ambient temperature) because it gives the system a chance to dry out before the blower is turned off.

 

[Ron Tobias]

Check to see if you are leaving the system closed when off (Set to Max Air for example). The manual reminds you to leave the system open when parked (regular air for example). That allows air to move through the system reducing the likelihood of mold, mildew, etc.



I was having the same/similar issue and this cured it!

 

[Steven Hackett 2]

last two replies are 100% correct!!!!!!!!

 

[Deleted deleted]

Using Rocco's advice, I've never had a problem with smelly vents.

 

[Dre L]

Yep, there's an actual technical reason for it, linked below.



I generally run the heater on high through all vents for a few minutes before I turn off the car, and drench the evaporator with lysol every few weeks.