Stinky A/C in hot, humid climate? I might have found a solution that I'm currently testing with positive results.

[dcdttu]

I live in Austin and my A/C filters have to be replaced 2x a year, and even with that they stink half the year. It's very humid here, even in my garage, and the car's A/C stinks to high heaven. So I thought of a potential solution.

The last time I replaced my filters, which was last fall (2021), I got some colloidal silver liquid at the grocery store and sprayed it all over the filter material of a new set of filters and let it dry before installing it and.......so far......no smell. We're well into humidity season and my car would usually be stinking something serious by now. Silver has excellent antimicrobial traits and doesn't expire or stop working like other sprays or treatments do. It's woven into things like hiking socks to prevent smell, so I figured what the hell.

Before applying, I researched colloidal silver because I didn't want to ruin my car or the condenser and found that silver doesn't react to other metals or plastics, so I figured I'd try it out.

If I make it all year without a nasty smell, or even if I make it a year before the smell comes back, I will consider it a resounding success.

 

[AZAV8R]

PLEASE keep us updated!!!

 

[jmaddr]

Let me get this straight, you are spraying a metal onto your filter in order to kill bacteria? Have you looked at the possibility of that metal becoming aerosolized and entering your body through your respiratory system?

I honestly don’t know if silver is harmful, or even if it could be aerolized, but it seems like something to investigate. This is the first Google hit I came across:

Colloidal Silver: What You Need To Know

This fact sheet discusses the safety and effectiveness of colloidal silver and suggests sources for additional information.

www.nccih.nih.gov

I’m not stating it’s harmful, I’m not stating it’s harmless, just I would investigate fully (which maybe you have).

 

[pnwadventures]

I wonder if anyone has ever just removed the filter and left it out permanently. From an AQI perspective, how is that any worse than driving around with the windows cracked or commuting by bicycle? 1/2 serious question.

 

[BeeGood]

I think you might be on to something. I bought a filter from Abstract Ocean four months ago that has an anti microbial coating on the side facing the evaporator and it seems to be keeping the smell under control.

 

[PianoAl]

I wonder if anyone has ever just removed the filter and left it out permanently. From an AQI perspective, how is that any worse than driving around with the windows cracked or commuting by bicycle? 1/2 serious question.

Good point. Perhaps the filter also keeps stuff (e.g. mosquitos) from gunking up the inner workings of the HVAC system??

 

[medphys3]

I thought it was the evaporator coils that got musty, not the filters?

I’ll be honest, my HVAC rarely has that smell and it’s usually after cooling the cabin from the app. Never when I have the AC on. But I run my HVAC in manual with recirc off.

 

[smatthew]

The filter is there to keep the evaporator clean. Otherwise, stuff in the air will be blown through the evaporator and will eventually clog it up.

 

[datoda]

Let me get this straight, you are spraying a metal onto your filter in order to kill bacteria? Have you looked at the possibility of that metal becoming aerosolized and entering your body through your respiratory system?

I honestly don’t know if silver is harmful, or even if it could be aerolized, but it seems like something to investigate. This is the first Google hit I came across:

Colloidal Silver: What You Need To Know

This fact sheet discusses the safety and effectiveness of colloidal silver and suggests sources for additional information.

www.nccih.nih.gov

I’m not stating it’s harmful, I’m not stating it’s harmless, just I would investigate fully (which maybe you have).

Oh no! Your link indicates that colloidal silver can turn us into the Smurfs!

On the bright side, being blue-tinted should go well with my blue 3.

 

[one2many]

Well here you can buy paint with silver for the bathroom,
works great. Many high end refirgerators had lots of silver.
The doc can give you certain pills that have silver.
Should work.

 

[dcdttu]

Let me get this straight, you are spraying a metal onto your filter in order to kill bacteria? Have you looked at the possibility of that metal becoming aerosolized and entering your body through your respiratory system?

I honestly don’t know if silver is harmful, or even if it could be aerolized, but it seems like something to investigate. This is the first Google hit I came across:

Colloidal Silver: What You Need To Know

This fact sheet discusses the safety and effectiveness of colloidal silver and suggests sources for additional information.

www.nccih.nih.gov

I’m not stating it’s harmful, I’m not stating it’s harmless, just I would investigate fully (which maybe you have).

Yeah, I've done quite a bit of research on colloidal silver, and know some people use it as a kind-of home remedy or preventative by ingesting it orally, which I don't recommend. I would say there is a huge difference between ingesting the liquid directly on a daily basis and spraying a small amount on a filter, letting it dry and installing it in your car. Is there a chance I'll possibly breathe in some? Yeah there might be a very, very small amount in the cabin I suppose, but I don't think that's enough to even remotely cause any kind of issue as it's infinitesimally small compared to direct daily ingestion.

As stated, silver is used in a lot of things such as clothing to prevent mold/mildew/bacterial growth and it's quite good at it. People also wear it all over their bodies in the form of jewelry, likely leading to absorption through the skin.

The amount of it I may ingest is probably extremely tiny compared to the amount of other metals, chemicals, and plastics I ingest/inhale from living in society on a daily basis, which is something we should all be very worried about honestly, but I appreciate your concern!

 

[one2many]

Sophisticated nano-technology has allowed Samsung to apply a Silver Nano coating to the inner surfaces of refrigerators for an overall anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effect. As air circulates, the coated surfaces allow the silver ions to control the airborne bacteria.

 

[dcdttu]

Oh no! Your link indicates that colloidal silver can turn us into the Smurfs!

On the bright side, being blue-tinted should go well with my blue 3.

Haha the people that turn blue ingest a LOT of silver. Like teaspoons of the colloidal mixture on a daily basis for years. Also, it has to go through your stomach to cause you to turn blue, not your lungs. It reacts with stomach acid.

 

[dcdttu]

Sophisticated nano-technology has allowed Samsung to apply a Silver Nano coating to the inner surfaces of refrigerators for an overall anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effect. As air circulates, the coated surfaces allow the silver ions to control the airborne bacteria.

Considering the silver in a Samsung fridge doesn't mess up its electronics or compressor makes me feel a little better about it not messing up my car's A/C system. I wasn't terribly concerned but any information like this is helpful. Thanks!

 

[dcdttu]

I wonder if anyone has ever just removed the filter and left it out permanently. From an AQI perspective, how is that any worse than driving around with the windows cracked or commuting by bicycle? 1/2 serious question.

I have seen things as large as leaves stuck on the filters of my car - I would hate for that stuff to get wedged in the evaporator as it would be nearly impossible to remove without damaging it.

 

[dcdttu]

I think you might be on to something. I bought a filter from Abstract Ocean four months ago that has an anti microbial coating on the side facing the evaporator and it seems to be keeping the smell under control.

Can you link me? Wouldn't mind seeing what kind of technology they use.

 

[dcdttu]

I thought it was the evaporator coils that got musty, not the filters?

I’ll be honest, my HVAC rarely has that smell and it’s usually after cooling the cabin from the app. Never when I have the AC on. But I run my HVAC in manual with recirc off.

I'm not 100% sure what actually gets stinky, but I do know that every time I replace the filters, they've turned sulfur-yellow and are really gross. It's also the only part of my system I felt comfortable testing my possible solution on.

Yeah, running the A/C usually causes it not to smell, but before and after it sure does. I tried to run my A/C on manual with fresh air every time I was almost home, but I often forgot and it didn't seem to work for me anyway. I mean, the car vents itself after you get out anyway, and that didn't work either. It's humid and HOT here in Central Texas.

 

[BeeGood]

Can you link me? Wouldn't mind seeing what kind of technology they use.

Absolutely, here you go. It seems logical to me that making sure no organic growth happens between the filter and coils.

Advanced Carbon Activated Filters

 

[AZAV8R]

My SOP is recirc off unless there is something really stinky outside. There are a number of comments on other TMC threads on this topic that make the argument that recirc is the way to go, as recirc off continuously brings in more humid air, while recirc on is maintaining the the dry environment. It certainly does not sound insane, but I'm not an HVAC engineer. Are the any educated opinions out there on this line of thinking?

 

[dcdttu]

Update - so far so good still. The car occasionally gets a mild funk in it when first started, which I think is due to condensation remaining in the filter area and getting mildew on it, but the filters themselves are likely not mildewing. The smell is no where near as bad as it has been in the past, which was overwhelming. Before, on a scale of 1-10, the smell hit an 8 and would remain there till I replaced the filters. Now, it hits a 2 occasionally when it's extremely humid, then goes away for days at a time. When it is there it's a mild smell that quickly goes away once the A/C is on. Also, the smell hasn't gotten any worse, as it did in the past.

Hoping to make it a full year without having to replace them!