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What’s Causing My Air Conditioner To Smell Weird?
Most people want the inside of their cars to smell good and not smell like a dirty sock. That is why when you smell something weird coming from your car air conditioner vents can be cause for concern.
So what is causing your air conditioner smell? The most likely cause for smells from your car air conditioner is mildew and bacteria buildup in your air conditioner. Other common causes for smells from your car air conditioner include a dirty cabin air filter, exhaust leaks, coolant leaks, and gasoline leaks.
But how do you know which specific smell your car is suffering from, and more importantly how do you get the issue corrected? Keep reading to find out.
Why Does My Car Air Conditioner Smell?
1. Mold/Mildew and Bacteria In Vents
As you use the air conditioner in your car mold, mildew, and bacteria can start to form inside of your car air conditioner vents. Once this happens you will start to smell mildew or mold smells coming from your air conditioner vents when you use the air conditioner in your car.
2. Dirty Cabin Air Filter
Most new cars made today will come with a cabin air filter to filter the air that is circulated inside of the cabin. These cabin air filters will need to be replaced over time as they will get dirty and lose effectiveness with use. If you’ve never replaced your cabin air filter or don’t know if your car has one this could also be the culprit for weird smells coming from your car air conditioner.
3. Exhaust Leak
Another culprit for weird smells coming from your car air conditioner is exhaust smells or fumes making its way into the cabin of your car. Exhaust systems equipped on cars are made of metal and can corrode over time. When this happens the exhaust fumes that would typically be expelled out of the back of your car can leak out of the exhaust pipes and make their way back into your car via the air conditioner.
4. Coolant/AntiFreeze Leak
Coolant lines are made out of rubber and are susceptible to cracking and leaking as they age. Engine coolant can then spill out of the coolant lines onto the road which can lead to coolant smells entering the cabin of your car from the air conditioner.
5. Gasoline Leak
Gasoline is another fluid that can leak out of your car and cause gasoline smells to be sent into your car from your air conditioner. Most people know what gas smells like as they’ve smelt it while refueling their car but to some people, it may not be as obvious what they are smelling.
How Do I Get Rid of the Smell In My Car Air Conditioner?
Depending on what specific smell you have coming out of your air conditioner would determine what the next course of action should be. If you are smelling car exhaust fumes coming in from your air conditioner then you likely have an exhaust leak that needs to be repaired.
With coolant smells coming into the cabin you likely have a coolant leak that needs to be fixed. If you are smelling gasoline from your car air conditioner vents then you likely have a gas leak somewhere underneath your car or in your engine bay.
But if you are smelling mildew coming from your air conditioner vents then you will need to clean your air conditioner vents using a disinfectant spray. To learn more about how to remove mildew smells from your car air conditioner check out the section below.
How Do I Get The Mildew Smell Out Of My Car Air Conditioner?
The easiest way to get mildew smell out of your car air conditioner is to spray a disinfectant into your air conditioner air intake vents to kill any mildew or bacteria that has formed. You’d first need to obtain a disinfectant spray if you don’t have any at your house.
Next, turn on your air conditioner on full blast and roll down all of your windows in your car. Make sure that the recirculation option off if your car is equipped with that. After completing the last steps you’d be ready to start spraying the disinfectant into your air conditioner air intake vents. They will be located just in front of your windshield.
You don’t need to use a ton of disinfectant spray for this part but make sure that you’ve covered all of the air vents with disinfectant spray and that the disinfectant is entering into the cabin (but don’t breathe it in).
The video below shows the process of disinfecting your car air conditioner vents with Lysol if you’d like to watch a video that shows step by step how to disinfect your car air conditioner vents.
How Do I Get the Smell Out Of My Car Air Vents?
I’ve already mentioned what you should do if you are experiencing odors from gasoline, exhaust, mildew, and coolant but what if you just have a weird smell coming out of your vents that you just want to cover up?
If your vents still have a weird odor coming out of them than are other steps that you can take to remove the odor. You can spray odor removers such as febreeze into your air vents and the air conditioner air intake port so that they are cycled throughout the air vents and into the cabin of your vehicle.
According to Febreeze.com Febreeze works on a chemical level by surrounding odors effectively removing the odor all together. Febreeze’s active ingredient is a cyclodextrin, it works by forming the shape of a doughnut on a molecular level and then by surrounding the odor molecule so that you can no longer smell it.
How Do You Disinfect A Car Air Conditioner?
Disinfecting a car air conditioner is easy and I outlined the steps on how to spray disinfectant into your air conditioner air intake to clean the inside of your car air conditioner vents. I’d recommend watching the video in that section if you want to watch a video that explains the process.
How Can I Prevent Smells From My Car Air Conditioner?
To prevent smells from taking over your air conditioner you want to allow the moisture that will build up inside of the unit enough time to dry out after use. This means turning off your air conditioner a few minutes before the end of your drive but also keeping your fan running and allowing outside air to be drawn in allowing any built-up moisture to dry out.
What Should I Do To Get My Car Smelling Like New Again?
To get your car smelling like new again you need to first get the problem causing the bad smells in your air conditioner fixed. Once you’ve been able to get the cause of the bad smells in your car removed then you’d be able to use fragrances to get your car to smell like new again.
There are many products that contain fragrances that smell like what you would smell in a new car. Alternatively, you could use another fragrance or spray to make your car smell better after you’ve located and fixed what caused the smell to begin with. 
Sources:
https://www.febreze.com/en-us/safety/science-and-chemicals-in-febreze