Forum Discussion

rjsurfer's avatar
rjsurfer
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014

Smell from air conditioner.

I feel bad now, I thought the odd smell in my camper was from our dog, possibly an accident or something even though we walk her plenty, but its coming from our air conditioner unit up on the roof.

We found that the smell was coming from the A/C vent! When we took the filter assembly down there was a fairly strong mildewy stink. How in the world do we get rid of it.

I'm running the heat strip now for an hour or so to see if that helps but is there something we can spray into the ducting to relieve the odor?

I'm sure hoping its not water intrusion into the ducts, but we are in Florida now so mildew from the humidity is more likely.

Thanks....

Ron W.

The dog did get some extra treats for my wrongfully blaming her.
  • rjsurfer's avatar
    rjsurfer
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2014
    OP back, as suggested I took the evaporator cover off and sure enough there was mold on the lower fins and the drip catch. Plus there where numerous old mud dauber nests and other sorts of insect homes which where clogging up things.

    Sprayed some chlorine carefully on the fins and cleaned out the catch then sprayed some cleaner designed to get the oil and grit from between the fins on both the evaporator and front condenser.

    I also addeded a few drain drain holes in the back of the housing to keep water from ponding, there was some mild rusting starting.

    Thanks for the tips.

    Ron W.
  • rjsurfer's avatar
    rjsurfer
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Thanks everyone for your responses. I'll hit the nearest car dealer after the Tampa RV show today, unless of course I buy a new rig :-)

    Thanks

    Ron W.
  • amxpress's avatar
    amxpress
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Being that you are in Florida, go to the nearest Toyota dealer and ask for an AC REFRESHER KIT. It has one aerosol can to spray outside on the coils that kill any mold or mildew; another aerosol to spray inside up into the unit that helps the smell and mold.
  • bob213's avatar
    bob213
    Explorer
    Jan 14, 2014
    BG Frigefresh works great in auto ac systems. Should work for rooftop also. Most car dealer parts depts. carry it.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Jan 14, 2014
    I've never had any luck with Lysol on really moldy stuff. There are products designed for this purpose though. One of the best is sold by Ford dealers for cleaning the smell out of their vehicles AC systems. It works extremely well and is simply sprayed through the intake opening while the fan is on high, until its dripping out the vents.
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    Jan 14, 2014
    Make sure the drip pan is draining properly, too. I used to get that in my truck when working on the farm. The condensate drain would plug from dirt/trash and that nasty mildew smell would start spewing out.

    Lyle
  • tvman44's avatar
    tvman44
    Explorer
    Jan 14, 2014
    Probably mildew or mold in the evaporator coil. The condenser coil will not normally smell inside. Get up on roof and remove cover and open up evaporator box and saturate the coil with coil cleaner or bleach. I use a coil cleaner in a aerosol can that requires no rinsing, get it from a refrigeration supplier and soak coil and let sit till all the foam is gone then crank up the A/C and let it run the sweat will rinse the coil off. :)
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Jan 14, 2014
    Not only remove shroud and clean condenser coil but will need to open sealed cover over evap coil and clean it & drip pan plus room blower wheel.
    Also should remove ceiling grill and clean discharge plenum and spray into ducts.

    Bleach/water mix in a spray bottom works well.
    Also there is a mildew spray product.....most any hardware/big box/discount store.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jan 14, 2014
    Bleach water. Take the outside cover off and be sure to thoroughly clean all of the fins etc.

About Fifth Wheel Group

19,006 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 29, 2025