moldy smell coming from the vents

[hachiroku]

it's been raining lately and i've been getting a moldy-like smell coming from the vents in my S13 when i first drive it, but it seems to go away when i turn the heater on at full blast for a few minutes...i also get the same smell after turning off the A/C...assuming when water/condensation gets in the vents, this is what carries the smell through?

is there a way to get rid of whatever is causing this smell?  i've also noticed it from other cars from the early 1990s such as this 92 accord my friend has.

[Dousan_PG]

yeah mine does the same. wonders of a 10 year old car. dont know how to fix it. sorry.

[driftingpanda]

i heard if you sprayed a bucket load of fabreeze into the vents and let it dry, the smell pretty much goes away... haven't tried it tho.  i usually just keep the a/c on constantly, it seems to reduce that musky smell somewhat.  good luck!

danny

[will]

Lysol is your friend, spray a lot in the vents under the hood, u should be good

-will &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sneaky2.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':evil:'>

[itsybitsy240sxEy]

if you have a hatchback, the moldy smell might not be just from the vents. &nbsp;my friend noticed a funky smell in his car and found that rain had leaked into his hatch into a puddle under the spare tire. &nbsp;i've got to check my car now too. &nbsp;dang schools for not having garages!!

[Natty]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (itsybitsy240sxEy @ Nov. 11 2002,9:00)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">if you have a hatchback, the moldy smell might not be just from the vents. my friend noticed a funky smell in his car and found that rain had leaked into his hatch into a puddle under the spare tire. i've got to check my car now too. dang schools for not having garages!!</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
I had that same problem. I actually liked the modly smell. It was a change from the cigarette smell that last owner left me. I can't get it out &nbsp; <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('>
Don't smoke in your car! &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/alien.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':alien:'>
Jeff

[hachiroku]

i have no leaks anywhere that i know of...the hatch surprisingly stays dry, even with the oem spoiler i have...so i guess it hasn't leaked yet...but i do want to get rid of it and get another spoiler that won't trap water like the oem does

it's just the vents because i get the smell when i mess with them...so i think something is growing in my vents

[SilviaDriver]

the smell could be coming from a dead animal stuck in the vents?

[hachiroku]

no...there's no dead animal, otherwise it'd be a rotting smell

it's like the smell of stale air or something like that....

it comes on right after i turn off the a/c or at the beginning of my drive when the car has been parked overnight in the cold/rain

[adey]

actually I get that smell in my GTi sometimes. It goes away after you turn the AC's on, but is ever-present when it's just the fan. I don't have it (as far as I can remember) on my 240, though. I don't drive w/ the ac or fan on often.

[jdms14]

listen to will. or rip out your dash and remove your heater box.

[uiuc240]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (hachiroku @ Nov. 13 2002,01:18)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">no...there's no dead animal, otherwise it'd be a rotting smell

it's like the smell of stale air or something like that....

it comes on right after i turn off the a/c or at the beginning of my drive when the car has been parked overnight in the cold/rain</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
you probably have mold growing on the A/C condenser or the little drip pan. &nbsp;I'm not sure what you need to take out to clean it, though...I've never looked at the system that closely. &nbsp;Get an FSM...that'll show ya.

Eric