Hi
My car is three years old and recently when I put the aircon on (cold) there is a sour smell almost like vinegar. I changed the cabin filter but no change. Does this mean that the system need to be cleaned out
thanks
alan
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how often is the aircon used ?
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Sounds like bacteria growing in the ducts. Every week, you should use the aircon for at least half an hour to keep the seals lubricated, so preventing leaks. Then, you should run the aircon on hor ten minutes to dry the ducts out, preventing bacteria etc. from growing.
Andy
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His mail address is in Blighty, how often do you think he uses his aircon in March prat.
Does it smell of fish?
If so I'd leave it. Mmmm!
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Just for your info, I live in the UK, and use my aircon regularly to demist the windows, and I can do without the insults, thank you very much.
Andy
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Andy, I was Talking to Mark not to you. Pay attention!
For what it's worth I think your post was very helpful.
Regards.
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I thought Bob Flemming hated cats.
David
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Hi Alan - Run the air-con and turn up the heat. It will kill off the bacteria in the system.
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I concur - I had precisely this problem on my 406 (and I do use the aircon all year round, week in week out). Changing the pollen filter helped, but as others have said, try one of HJ's recommended aircon blasts where you cycle the system on maximum chill/maximum blow through all the duct settings for 10 minutes or so, then finish off on maximum heat to dry everything out. Worked for me and I now do this every couple of months. The problem has not repeated itself.
Good Luck
Phil T
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Dear Ms. Coxley,
>>His mail address is in Blighty, how often do you think he uses his aircon in March
I don't know. Do you ? If it was me it would be run fairly regularly whatever the weather/temperature to stop bacteria growing which could cause the system to smell.
He may not do that, in which case he has bacteria growing and the solution has been given.
On the other hand, he may do it, in which case the problem would be something else.
As for your insult, I assume that this is indicative of a certain incapability, or at least insecurity, with either the English language or of your position in the world. Don't feel bad, many people have these issues and you can get help. At least you have the comfort of knowing that, in this case at least, your feelings are justified.
Mark.
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His mail address is in Blighty, how often do you think he uses his aircon in March prat.
I use aircon all the time (without heat) ... so I guess that makes me a prat or the Iceman, or perhaps both.
Steve
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The only prats around here are those who can't read HJ's FAQs re airconditioning and the once a month inputs where the answer is ALWAYS to have it selected on all the time, adjust the temperature as required and every so often do the full cold full hot routine.
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Some people are new to the site so make allowances for them , it annoys me too.
Regarding the use of aircon i only run mine five minutes aweek unless required and have never had a problem.It makes no sense to me to have a cooling fan running constantly when it is not required.
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Just use it all the time, it will sort itself. I've been there.
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Mark, I was trying to post obliquely, and the 'insult' was a smoke screen.
I know the strength of your feelings should I turn out to be wasting the forum's time.
Given that, I hope no apology is necessary.
Nor is one sought, after all I've been called a nutter before (not here) and I do post as a cat.....
Mr C (C)
<@O¬
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I love all cats (including Jaguars).
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Well of curse there is a resemblance between we cats and jaguars, however while it would not be incorrect to call them by our genus name Felis, they (jaguars) would be more properly classified as Pantera - phew, another qualifying car-name related post!
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>>after all I've been called a nutter before
I'm sure, but so politely ??? :-) - <-- smiley, in case it is neccessary
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I had to re-read you and I have to say yes, probably more politely before.
But you're still not on my wavelength......... (lucky you!)
BTW your mate (and my virtual mate) HJ will have to consider working less hard on this site, because if his car by car and faq get any more seminal,
thre will be nothing left for us backroom boys and girls (and cats, oh dear) to ask or answer.
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and on the subject of re-reading...
it was either so oblique, or such an effective smokescreen, that I am struggling to find what you were getting at.
Hints welcome.
Having read your previous e-mail I find myself bereft. I will endeavour to surpass any level of politeness in the course of insulting that you have previously encountered. And, as of course, it is the politeness which will represent the major challenge.
Not sure how long you've been here, but whilst the faq & CbyC are excellent, the amount of information and reference lying within the backroom itself is phenominal.
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I haven't been on the forum that long, but long enough to know what annoys you the most about some of the posts, and it's not the ones which contain the p word ;-).
And of course the information in the backroom, current and archived is a tremendous store of advice.
No more hints because I'm afraid I might be wrong.
By email I presume you meant post, because for some reason I'm not sure of myself, I don't like to use mail.
Regards.
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I did mean post, not e-mail. Sorry.
Send me an anonymous e-mail and explain, I am intrigued.
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All I want to say is why do people insist on asking questions which have been asked many times before. Of course in some cases they might be new visitors and have yet to find their way around. That's all (cough, splutter, ahem. Scuse me).
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Sorry, Bob, that's been asked before.
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This is a common problem in the heat and humidity of the tropics where aircons are on full blast continuously. My local Japanese accessory shop stock a product (unfortunately perhaps) called ARS Fumigator. It costs around 10 pounds equiv. You add water, close the doors, run the a/c, and it fumigates the system with a chemical cloud, removing smells and bacteria.
I don't know if there is a UK distributor. Since this query has cropped up a variety of times I could get some and bring it with me on my trip to UK next week. Any takers let me know before the holiday weekend.
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Where 'bouts you going Growler?
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If you know it has been posted before I reckon you have 3 options:
1. Judge by title it is not a thread of your interest - ignore it the thread.
2. Read it just to make sure, discover it actually is not of your interest, ignore the rest of the thread.
3. Post in reply to author a polite comment to use the site's search facility to find the information he is after or post the solution to his/her problem. Ignore the rest of the thread.
Just because a topic has been covered before does not mean the will not be new information that has not been posted before - just as a new user may be seeking information previously covered, there may be a new user who did not get an opportunity to share their unique knowledge the last time the thread was in focus.
There you go, no sweat, no insults. Why do some people get sooo stressed out over such unnecessary things? Save that stress for the next time some out of control trolley dinks your door...
Regards,
M.
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Why do people just assuem air con's only good for summer use. It makes winter driving far safer by keeping windows clear, just use it regularly.
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Bob I will be in London April 2-5, then Newcastle for 2 weeks after that.
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