Help: Smelly odor from aircon

[feargone]

Does anyone know what cause car aircon to emit smelly odor?

My car recently starts to emit smelly odor (fungus/sweat odor) from its aircon when I turned on the aircon after the engine has been started. After the aircon's been running for a while, the odor start to dissapear. My car is relatively new (1 year old Honda Jazz), and is serviced regularly.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of that foul odors?

[Entropy]

feargone;
I assume it's still under warranty-have your dealer check the drain tube for the condensor. Sometimes they get blocked or pinched and water cannot drain from the system like it's supposed to. When that happens the mold and mildew form up in the moist air inlets and smell rotten.

[mtrunz]

It's a Honda? They probably left some rice in the ductwork. Just kidding.
Seriously, I had an Oldsmobile with this problem. First buy a can of Lysol disinfectant in the scent of your choice. Next, turn on the vent blower and spray about half a can (it'll take awhile) into the intake at the base of the windshiled. (It has the mesh cover to keep debris out.) This will smell pretty strong when you're done so leave the blower on and the windows open for awhile to air it out. This should kill the bacteria that have caused the odor. It may have to be repeated several times over a few days. If that doesn't work, you can try rubbing alcohol or a bleach and water solution in a spray bottle. They may be more effective for more stubborn odors. The alcohol shouldn't hurt the interior but the Bleach water may. If you're worried about it, just drape a towel over the vents. I hope that helps.

[morgenhailey]

try to clean out the evaporator. fungus and stuff get stuck there