[Blue Thunder]

Guys, i think this is a normal phenomenon in all cars : not-so-good smell when only blower is on, and good smell when AC is also switched on. I have noticed it in our Alto also. I think this is because of the fact that the air in the car is stale and it gets re-circulated. Running the blower in the "fresh-air" mode will resolve this to some extent, but then you will get any bad odour that may be present outside the car .

The same smell is also present for the initial few seconds when one switches on any room air-conditioning system also.

[DirtyDan]

You might try pouring about a shot glass of Lizol or some other disinfectant right down the vent holes particularly by the windshield. You probably have a small forest of mold and/or fungus growing down there. Or.......Are any of your small family pets missing? Are any of the local snake charmers looking for their missing partners?

[arunkumar_rec]

I think this phenomenon is common across many cars going by the responses to this thread. Even I do have the same issue in my less than a year Getz. The air doesn't smell nice with only blower on. With A/C things are ok. I wonder how can this happen. The air whether it comes through the A/C or blower unit should come through the air filter only. So how does it smell different in these 2 cases?
Earlier, I had some unpleasant smell coming out of the A/C duct for initial 10 seconds once the A/C is switched on. So I tried the A/C neutraliser spray by Gulf Car care into the A/C ducts. And it looks like it works better than before. But I won't say it is 100% ok.

[bblost]

once in a week park the car in the open under a hot sun.

I started getting the same problem once covered parking started in my office.
Car was always parked in shade.

Sun bathing helps keep her smelling fresher.

[arunkumar_rec]

@bblost, Do you keep the windows rolled down when the car is parked under hot sun? Won't the fabric/leather seat covers and plastic smell bad if they get heated up?

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by bblost

Sun bathing helps keep her smelling fresher.

Brilliant!!!!

[RufRoc]

My swift suffers from smelly breath too. The Doc (MASS) said it's just a case of initial stale air (like when you wake up in the morning and then try to smell your breath), sorry to gross you guys out but you get the point.

Planning to get the AC/s air filter replaced soon since I'm anyway nearing the 20 K mark. My guess is that there's some sorta fungus squatting in there and I'm going to have them evicted soon

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by arunkumar_rec

Earlier, I had some unpleasant smell coming out of the A/C duct for initial 10 seconds once the A/C is switched on. So I tried the A/C neutraliser spray by Gulf Car care into the A/C ducts. And it looks like it works better than before. But I won't say it is 100% ok.

I am using the A/C neutralizer spray from Gulf Car Care. The smell is just ok. My wife hates the smell with the neutralizer. I bought it to keep the AC ducts free from fungus. I had some unpleasant smell from the blower few times with the A/C in Recirculation mode.

[arunkumar_rec]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I am using the A/C neutralizer spray from Gulf Car Care. The smell is just ok. My wife hates the smell with the neutralizer. I bought it to keep the AC ducts free from fungus. I had some unpleasant smell from the blower few times with the A/C in Recirculation mode.

Yeah same with me. The smell of the neutraliser is not pleasant. But there is no other go.
I am waiting for my Advaith, Mysore dealer to get the A/C cleaner equipment(they said some ozone treatment stuff) so that the complete A/C system can be cleaned.

[amit]

Originally Posted by bblost

once in a week park the car in the open under a hot sun.

I started getting the same problem once covered parking started in my office.
Car was always parked in shade.

Sun bathing helps keep her smelling fresher.

Is this in general or to do away with a smelly blower? My car is parked in the sun all day outside my office and it still smells once I switch the blower on.

[esteem_lover]

i do no think sun bathing is the answer, my car is sun bathed at least once in a week & the problem still persists. I wonder hos many of the people who have this problem are using leather/art leather upholstery. I believe this could reduce the stale smell quite a lot.

[Vinaygv]

It generally happens when there is high humidity in the air, at night the temperature drops quite low, while inside of the blower area is warmer due to the heat from the engine, warm moist place, ergo!! "Fungus Hotel!!", when you switch on the A/C it dehumidifies the air so the smell reduces to an extent. Using the Heater once in a while say once in 15-20 days at full blast for about 5 minutes, with the air on re circulate, should help. I generally do it about once a month, before putting her to bed.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Vinaygv

Using the Heater once in a while say once in 15-20 days at full blast for about 5 minutes, with the air on re circulate, should help. I generally do it about once a month, before putting her to bed.

You could become tandoori vinay if you sit inside the car.

[Vinaygv]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

You could become tandoori vinay if you sit inside the car.

I dont, just switch on the blower, have a smoke outside the car, switch off the blower, go to bed. but that give me an idea, lets see if I can make popcorn!

[IronWolf]

Originally Posted by Vinaygv

It generally happens when there is high humidity in the air, at night the temperature drops quite low, while inside of the blower area is warmer due to the heat from the engine, warm moist place, ergo!! "Fungus Hotel!!", when you switch on the A/C it dehumidifies the air so the smell reduces to an extent. Using the Heater once in a while say once in 15-20 days at full blast for about 5 minutes, with the air on re circulate, should help. I generally do it about once a month, before putting her to bed.

Vinay your explanation seems quite logically however what I still dont get is when the A/C is on for about 30-40 mins the A/C ducts should be quite dehumidified, however when you switch off the A/C button the foul air hits you almost instantly.

I dont believe that the humidity levels increase so much in those few secs to pick up the fungal smell again.

Stupid questions > does just the blower pull air from another source Or is it that only the A/C pulls air through a filter