Does your car’s AC smell like vinegar? Find out why your car’s AC system smells like vinegar. Learn the common reasons for this smell and explore solutions to deal with this. Learn more here about temporary and permanent solutions to deal with this unpleasant smell. Get to understand the effects that some of the solutions you take may have on the AC components and your health.
Is there any smell that your AC produces when you turn it on?
Imagine getting into your car ready to embark on a journey, you crank up your AC and get a strong smell of vinegar! First of all, this is unpleasant and will make your journey almost unbearable. Second, what could be the cause of this and how can you deal with it?
In this article, we will look at the possible causes of your AC producing a vinegar smell, explore solutions to this and how to permanently deal with the smell.
Common reasons why your car’s AC smells like vinegar
Mold
Mold is the most common source of the vinegar smell from your car’s AC system. And mold in the air conditioning system can be caused by a few things, the most common being trapped moisture.
In the inner workings of the AC, there is a lot of airflow and condensation. Over time, and with leaks in the system, add to that dust particles and other debris collected in the vents, mildew and mold will eventually form.
This mold is the one that produces that vinegar smell.
Decaying Material
As you travel, your vehicle will pick up foreign objects. Objects such as plants leaves or flowers could find themselves in your car’s AC system, or even near it!
As time passes, the leaf or natural object in and around your AC will start to decay. This will produce a bad smell! This smell has hints of vinegar which is what could lead to the smell in your car.
The presence of decaying material is easy to deal with as you only have to get rid of them.
Ozone
Ozone in your vehicle can be for several different reasons. It can be due to the effects of ozone treatment, used for dealing with odor, viruses, or bacteria in your vehicle. Ozone can also be produced by electric air conditioner engines.
When this ozone mixes with mold or mildew in your AC vents, it can release the vinegar smell.
Battery Acid Leak
Battery leaks are not that uncommon in vehicles! And this has a strong irritating smell. The smell from these batteries is sulfur but this can often be confused for vinegar.
Fungus
Depending on the conditions of your AC system, it could allow for favorable conditions for the growth of fungi. The fungus could come up in the vents of your system because of high and humid temperatures.
The smell from these fungi is what could make the car’s AC smell like vinegar.
Bad Filter
Another reason your AC could be smelling like vinegar is because of a bad filter. Due to a filter’s function in an AC, it has a high probability of getting damaged.
With the number of foreign objects that it collects, it could be a source of foul smell. This would give the vinegar odor. A clogged AC filter could also cause a more serious situation that your car’s AC only works when driving and stops while parked. OBDAdvisor has an article analyzing that issue in detail.
What you can do to eliminate the vinegar smell
For most of the causes listed above, it is easy to deal with them by yourself!
However, this is not advisable as you may not be in a position to accurately determine the cause of the vinegar smell. With most of the causes, all you need to do is invest in a good, reliable cleaning product. The product has to be specific for cleaning air-conditioners.
AC-cleaning products have enzymes that eliminate odor from the AC system parts. We would advise against using house-cleaning products on your air-conditioning system as they could cause damage to some internal components and in some cases even your health!
To eliminate the smell, you will need to:
Identify the source
Identifying the source of the vinegar smell from your AC system could be a huge task if you do not have the skills to do it. However, if you can manage, go ahead and save money you would have spent on a technician!
Once you find the source of the smell, you will be in a position to tell if you need a minor or major cleaning process! It could also mean that you may have to replace your air filter.
Clean the vents
Getting rid of the vinegar smell does not entirely mean that the AC system is now clean!
If you use household cleaning products, for example, the air situation could be temporarily fixed but could re-occur in the future.
It is important to identify the root cause of the smell and deal with it permanently. Decaying material in your vents can cause smells, you should get rid of them and clean them. A battery leak can also produce interior smells, have the battery inspected. If the issue is fungi, you will need to buy a product that will permanently destroy the fungi and also deal with the smell by cleaning up the vents
See a Professional
The most effective method to deal with this issue is to seek advice from a local AC professional. If you aren’t certain who to call, Contact Me. I would advise seeking out shops that specifically handle automotive air conditioning repairs and installs. Even though there are some fine general automotive repair shops. They are not equipped or have the experience to handle these type issues.
Final thoughts
Driving a car emitting a vinegar smell is an unpleasant experience! And while you can manage to handle it for a while, you need to get it checked out and fixed. Its root cause can be anything from decaying products in your AC’s vents to a bad air filter. While you can manage to deal with this issue by yourself, we would recommend that you take it to a professional so that you can get an expert view and solution. Fixing this is not complicated or expensive so… get it done! And in time.
Post by Tim Miller
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