Mildew smell in Air conditioner

[artman]

When our A/C kicks in, we get a mildew-like smell during the first few minutes of operation. Where in the system would the mildew be? Ducts? The unit itself? Anybody ever experience this, and what steps did you take to remedy the situation?

[Perry White]

yep

[tvman44]

Try cleaning your coils.

[rv_playpen]

First check any filters.. Then try to clean the coils using a spray bottle and a little bit of liquid plummer, and flush with plenty of water. Be careful to monitor the drain to ensure it doesn't clog from any resulting debris and be sure that you have good ventilation.

[Eric_H_E]

Liquid Plummer ?
Thought that was for drains. Not AC coils

[Teachrz]

Lowe's sells a spray can of coil cleaner.

[Ray,IN]

I use the spray can of coil cleaner too. Rinsing it away with a water hose can get messy and get water inside the coach. I used a garden sprayer filled with tap water(high pressure, low volume) to rinse the coils after the cleaner had loosened the dirt and muck in the fins. Be gentle working around the coils, the fins bend very easily; bent fins equal reduced cooling capacity/efficiency. This worked fine for me, hope it does for others too.
Clean the drain pans, insure drain holes are all open, wipe solid surfaces with a vinegar-wetted rag- it cleans the surface, kills mold/mildew.

[rv_playpen]

I've used this simply because I found it was more effective than the coil cleaner I've bought in the past.. It did a good job without any need for scrubbing (first time I tried to clean coils I used a plastic scrub brush and did quite a bit of damage- had an AC guy come to repair my "repair" and he used the liquid plummr).

The main advice I would give is to just be careful.. I actually use two hand spray bottles- the liq plummr in one set on a mist, and clean water in the other set on spray. I'll normally go through 4 or 5 of the bottles of water.

I've never tried to use a hose from the sink. Perhaps I'll try that next time.

Currently, I do this once a year before the summer starts when I'm prepping the 5th wheel. I've got it for sale, so hopefully I'll not have to do it again! We've been staying in park models this year since we are barely camping any longer, and while it appears to be more expensive- I think the overall budget is probably comparable since we are only doing 3 or 4 weeks now.

Am I the only guy (other than the original AC guy I spoke of) who uses liquid plummer for this?

[Triker56]

When it starts up. Spray some "Febreze" into the intake air.

After a couple times doing that. Problem will be solved.