In article <1123139043.898289.78770@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups. com>
"SpiralKid" <jin0412@gmail.com> writes:

>Hello everyone

>I have a 98 Accord and whenever I turn on the AC, it smells bad about a
>minute and gets better and finally I don't smell any. FYI, I have never
>recharged the freon gas. Is it time to recharge it?

>If I need to do that, how much is it going to cost me?

>Many thanks in advance.

It's Mildew. Here's the fix: (from the Dodge Trucks newsgroup)

Fresh smelling A/C: results guaranteed

Ingredients:

1 pint of common ordinary rubbing alcohol
3-ft piece of 3/8" copper tubing with a short "J" at 1 end
1 small funnel

connect the "J" end of the copper tubing to the air conditioner condensate
drain hose under the vehicle (where the water drips out when the A/C is
running normally. Stick the long end of the tubing up through
the engine compartment so you can reach it from above. The copper tubing
must be long enough to extend above the center of the dash. Now pour the
rubbing alcohol into the upper end of the tubing using the funnel.
Continue adding more alcohol until it starts to spill over onto the
floorboard of the car or truck. Don't worry, the alcohol will evaporate
and won't harm the carpet. This will backflush the system and kill the
mold & mildew spores. Now disconnect the copper tubing. If desired you can
collect the alcohol in a cake or pie tin as it drains back out and reuse
it again.

A/C now all nice and fresh again, guaranteed.

Now, to keep it nice and fresh, switch your A/C over to max heat about 1/2
block before stopping (every trip). This will dry out the system and
prevent the mold and mildew from ever forming.

 

In article <1123139043.898289.78770@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups. com>
"SpiralKid" <jin0412@gmail.com> writes:

>Hello everyone

>I have a 98 Accord and whenever I turn on the AC, it smells bad about a
>minute and gets better and finally I don't smell any. FYI, I have never
>recharged the freon gas. Is it time to recharge it?

>If I need to do that, how much is it going to cost me?

>Many thanks in advance.

It's Mildew. Here's the fix: (from the Dodge Trucks newsgroup)

Fresh smelling A/C: results guaranteed

Ingredients:

1 pint of common ordinary rubbing alcohol
3-ft piece of 3/8" copper tubing with a short "J" at 1 end
1 small funnel

connect the "J" end of the copper tubing to the air conditioner condensate
drain hose under the vehicle (where the water drips out when the A/C is
running normally. Stick the long end of the tubing up through
the engine compartment so you can reach it from above. The copper tubing
must be long enough to extend above the center of the dash. Now pour the
rubbing alcohol into the upper end of the tubing using the funnel.
Continue adding more alcohol until it starts to spill over onto the
floorboard of the car or truck. Don't worry, the alcohol will evaporate
and won't harm the carpet. This will backflush the system and kill the
mold & mildew spores. Now disconnect the copper tubing. If desired you can
collect the alcohol in a cake or pie tin as it drains back out and reuse
it again.

A/C now all nice and fresh again, guaranteed.

Now, to keep it nice and fresh, switch your A/C over to max heat about 1/2
block before stopping (every trip). This will dry out the system and
prevent the mold and mildew from ever forming.

 

You could have kept mildew to a minimum by using the outside air selection
instead of the recycled air selection. If you are in a humid climate then
outside air does not work as well. In that case it's best to run it on
recycled air till the car cools down then switch to outside air. You can
buy an can of aerosol which will kill the mildew.

DaveL


"SpiralKid" <jin0412@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1123173555.896073.302000@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Thanks, the freon is not getting in. it's mildew.
>

 

You could have kept mildew to a minimum by using the outside air selection
instead of the recycled air selection. If you are in a humid climate then
outside air does not work as well. In that case it's best to run it on
recycled air till the car cools down then switch to outside air. You can
buy an can of aerosol which will kill the mildew.

DaveL


"SpiralKid" <jin0412@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1123173555.896073.302000@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Thanks, the freon is not getting in. it's mildew.
>