What’s that smell? – Why the air conditioning in your car needs a check over.
Servicing your air conditioning is something that is easy to forget. You do tend to remember however when you get in your car on a hot day and it doesn’t work or it just produces a feeble, thin, ineffective, stream of stinky warm air.
When to get your air conditioning serviced
If you have just negotiated the recent heatwave with the air conditioning in your car not working, you have my sympathy. But a re-gas and air conditioning check will make the next heatwave a lot more bearable.
When you think about how a car is constructed, it’s no wonder they can get exceptionally hot inside and why they do it really quickly. Essentially you are in an insulated metal box, with huge windows that concentrate the heat, and to finish the job, all that is next to a very hot engine. Then, just to make it worse, you will leave it parked in the direct sun for hours.
If your air conditioning isn’t working, you are caught in a mobile sauna. That often means a long drive with an unhappy family all stuck a car hot and probably yelling at each other.
5 reasons to get an aircon service (apart from the obvious one)
1. You turn it on, and it smells musty and stale all the time
That smell is possibly coming from mould and mildew that is happily growing in the system. The thought of that blowing over the passengers is pretty disgusting, but it gets worse. If you haven’t had a service for a while not only can the aircon system be subject to bacterial growth, mildew and fungus but it could also harbour some very nasty pathogens. A series of tests by the London Metropolitan University found bacteria related to a range of infections including meningitis and septic arthritis in car aircon systems. It seems that the nasty smell you get when your aircon is due a service could be a lot more than just an unpleasant odour.
2. It’s making a rattling noise when you start it
That could be your compressor giving up the ghost, a belt on its way out, or all those nasties from point 1 blocking something important. Again, it’s not going to go away, in fact, it is more likely to fail entirely and cost a lot to repair.
3. It’s been a while since you had a service
There is a rule of thumb to apply here. If you can’t remember when you last had one, then it’s probably due. Your air con should be serviced at least every couple of years, so if you can’t remember when you had it done, it was probably a while ago
4. You are going on a long journey/doing a lot of driving in hot weather
Even if you are not due for a few months, if you decide to do a long, hot, journey like driving down to the south of Spain, or you are doing a lot of trips in the UK in summer, it’s worth getting your aircon serviced. The last thing you need is it cutting out in a traffic jam or halfway to your destination.
5. Dripping water and condensation
It's perfectly normal for your aircon to drip a little water underneath your car. This is part of the regular function. However, if there is water coming from anywhere else in your air conditioning, such as from vents, it usually indicates a problem. Something is blocked, not working right or leaking, so come in and see us.
The obvious reason we left out of the 5 things is when your car air conditioning simply doesn’t get cold enough or isn’t working at all.
With your air conditioning out of commission, or just not working properly, you could be looking at some uncomfortable journeys. In extreme weather conditions, the heat can really affect you and the result of overheating are pretty distressing. Being too hot can cause all sorts of side effects including feeling dizzy, tired, confused and even fainting, all things you don’t want to happen when driving.
We offer a free air conditioning check so call us and let’s look at re-gassing and checking your air conditioning.