[Fish Chris 2]

Alright, so a few years back, I had an issue with my AC vents starting to stink like dirty socks, especially if I tried to use recirculation. Particularly bad, since it's my Uber car.
Tried everything under the sun, but the only thing that worked was this stuff >

Amazon.com: Auto Shocker ClO2 car interior odor eliminator : Automotive

Buy Auto Shocker ClO2 car interior odor eliminator: Air Fresheners - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Now, this stuff is hard core, and makes a bunch of highly toxic chlorine gas that zaps ALL odors. In fact, for a couple weeks afterwards, scented air fresheners won't even work ! I used to be concerned that this hard core chlorine gas might damage my speakers surrounds, but used it several times, and never had a problem.
Its pretty expensive though, at $23 for a one time, one vehicle treatment.
_
So today, I broke down and bought one of these >

Enerzen O-777 - 11,000 mg/h Ozone Generator Deodorizer Air Purifier Odor Ionizer | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Enerzen O-777 - 11,000 mg/h Ozone Generator Deodorizer Air Purifier Odor Ionizer at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Super confident it will do a great job of zapping my car, along with my AC vents... But I still have the same concerns with possible damage to my speakers surrounds ?
They warn you that overdosing your car with ozone can damage your interior, and you should start out with only 20 minutes of ozone generation. Then let it clear out, to see if you still have any odor issues.

Curious if any of you here use a chlorinating bomb, or an ozone generator, and if you have ever had any speaker damage because of it, or have ever heard of anyone who has ???

PS, I can't say anything about the ozone generator, as I haven't used one yet, but the chlorine bombs are what most auto dealers use in cars that have been smoked in... Or vomit... Or any other really nasty smells.

 

[Myface]

Alright, so a few years back, I had an issue with my AC vents starting to stink like dirty socks, especially if I tried to use recirculation. Particularly bad, since it's my Uber car.
Tried everything under the sun, but the only thing that worked was this stuff >

Amazon.com: Auto Shocker ClO2 car interior odor eliminator : Automotive

Buy Auto Shocker ClO2 car interior odor eliminator: Air Fresheners - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Now, this stuff is hard core, and makes a bunch of highly toxic chlorine gas that zaps ALL odors. In fact, for a couple weeks afterwards, scented air fresheners won't even work ! I used to be concerned that this hard core chlorine gas might damage my speakers surrounds, but used it several times, and never had a problem.
Its pretty expensive though, at $23 for a one time, one vehicle treatment.
_
So today, I broke down and bought one of these >

Enerzen O-777 - 11,000 mg/h Ozone Generator Deodorizer Air Purifier Odor Ionizer | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Enerzen O-777 - 11,000 mg/h Ozone Generator Deodorizer Air Purifier Odor Ionizer at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Super confident it will do a great job of zapping my car, along with my AC vents... But I still have the same concerns with possible damage to my speakers surrounds ?
They warn you that overdosing your car with ozone can damage your interior, and you should start out with only 20 minutes of ozone generation. Then let it clear out, to see if you still have any odor issues.

Curious if any of you here use a chlorinating bomb, or an ozone generator, and if you have ever had any speaker damage because of it, or have ever heard of anyone who has ???

PS, I can't say anything about the ozone generator, as I haven't used one yet, but the chlorine bombs are what most auto dealers use in cars that have been smoked in... Or vomit... Or any other really nasty smells.

I've used the ozone generator in the car and in the house works well.
It recommends staying out of your house for 4 hour or so after using it.
But to your question about speakers I have no idea.
Tom

 

[test13371997]

Alright, so a few years back, I had an issue with my AC vents starting to stink like dirty socks, especially if I tried to use recirculation. Particularly bad, since it's my Uber car.

You have changed the cabin air filter right? This is a stupid question, but it doesnt hurt to ask

 

[clange2485]

I have no clue about the damage to the speakers. If i get an odd smell, I usually just replace the cabin air filter. I would go after the source of the oder first, is it possible water is getting in somehow? Or is it uber people funk?

 

[Fish Chris 2]

You have changed the cabin air filter right? This is a stupid question, but it doesnt hurt to ask

Oh for sure. First thing I tried. In fact, I've even used the more expensive activated carbon ones, all to no avail.

 

[Fish Chris 2]

I have no clue about the damage to the speakers. If i get an odd smell, I usually just replace the cabin air filter. I would go after the source of the oder first, is it possible water is getting in somehow? Or is it uber people funk?

Not stinky passengers, and definitely not me 😀 lol
From my research, this happens to pretty much any vehicle which one 1) is used a LOT, and 2) in which the recirculation is used a lot. What happens is, mold / mildew grows in the AC internals (condenser ?) And once it does, it really doesn't die, even if you don't run the car for a few days. It just kind of goes dormant.

My brand new Prius got it really fast. Granted, I drove it 5000 miles in the first month ! You would hop in and it smelled great (with all those toxic hydrocarbons) new car smell. Then I would fire it up and turn on the AC and it would stink like dirty socks. I mean it goes away after 5 minutes or so, but still.

Keep in mind, I keep my car really clean, and I use natural lemon grass for an air freshener, and get constant comps how great my car smells...
Just that first 5 minutes when I get in it and turn on the AC, smells so funky it makes me paranoid...

 

[Packin4]

Not stinky passengers, and definitely not me 😀 lol
From my research, this happens to pretty much any vehicle which one 1) is used a LOT, and 2) in which the recirculation is used a lot. What happens is, mold / mildew grows in the AC internals (condenser ?) And once it does, it really doesn't die, even if you don't run the car for a few days. It just kind of goes dormant.

My brand new Prius got it really fast. Granted, I drove it 5000 miles in the first month ! You would hop in and it smelled great (with all those toxic hydrocarbons) new car smell. Then I would fire it up and turn on the AC and it would stink like dirty socks. I mean it goes away after 5 minutes or so, but still.

Keep in mind, I keep my car really clean, and I use natural lemon grass for an air freshener, and get constant comps how great my car smells...
Just that first 5 minutes when I get in it and turn on the AC, smells so funky it makes me paranoid...

You have correctly identified the problem... excess moisture in your a/c system/vents leading to mold/mildew stink. I found turning off the a/c (if you can stand the heat) a few minutes before shutting off the car allows the system to dry out; also, turn off the recirculation (brings in fresh outside air) if it's not blazing hot out. Yes, really tough to kill it once it's in your system, good luck.

 

[clange2485]

Not stinky passengers, and definitely not me 😀 lol
From my research, this happens to pretty much any vehicle which one 1) is used a LOT, and 2) in which the recirculation is used a lot. What happens is, mold / mildew grows in the AC internals (condenser ?) And once it does, it really doesn't die, even if you don't run the car for a few days. It just kind of goes dormant.

My brand new Prius got it really fast. Granted, I drove it 5000 miles in the first month ! You would hop in and it smelled great (with all those toxic hydrocarbons) new car smell. Then I would fire it up and turn on the AC and it would stink like dirty socks. I mean it goes away after 5 minutes or so, but still.

Keep in mind, I keep my car really clean, and I use natural lemon grass for an air freshener, and get constant comps how great my car smells...
Just that first 5 minutes when I get in it and turn on the AC, smells so funky it makes me paranoid...

That sounds frustrating, hopefully the ozone works out for you.

I have a couple of these, I’d be happy to send your way but seems like you’ve already gone that route and it’s a temp solution.

Adam's Odor Bomb

Eco-friendly vapors eliminate odors and bacteria with no dangerous residue!

adamspolishes.com

 

[LimpCroissaint]

I was given a car a few months back that had been sitting for a few months, slightly damp on the interior. The smell drove me insane and I put in all kinds of air fresheners and "car fabric febreeze"'d the seats a few times, what I found that worked was a scent bomb from the local hardware store. I think most of them have them. Mine was new car scent. You turn on your car, turn your blower on full blast in circulation mode, hit the button on the bomb and leave it inside the car with the windows up and air blowing for 15 minutes. It completely got rid of the smell and I get compliments all the time from people, even people with super nice cars ask me how I keep my car smelling so clean and fresh. And it was nasty at first!

 

[Old'sCool]

We use an ozone generator to clean mildew and mold smells from flooded residences.

One word of caution: Ozone will eat or oxidize certain materials. Gold-plated sunglasses, gold-plated speaker terminals, certain plastics and copper can suffer from long-term exposure to ozone.

If you go that route, I suggest only momentary blasts of ozone.

As for toxic chlorine gas, we no use. We no use.

 

[Fish Chris 2]

I was given a car a few months back that had been sitting for a few months, slightly damp on the interior. The smell drove me insane and I put in all kinds of air fresheners and "car fabric febreeze"'d the seats a few times, what I found that worked was a scent bomb from the local hardware store. I think most of them have them. Mine was new car scent. You turn on your car, turn your blower on full blast in circulation mode, hit the button on the bomb and leave it inside the car with the windows up and air blowing for 15 minutes. It completely got rid of the smell and I get compliments all the time from people, even people with super nice cars ask me how I keep my car smelling so clean and fresh. And it was nasty at first!

Oh yeah, I've used those. I thought the new car one smelled awesome... But my GF complained that it smelled fake, and was full of chemicals.... She is probably right.
As far as imparting a great, all natural smell (which I will often be inhaling 14+ hrs a day) I really like lemon grass. But this too, is a mask, for the actual issue causing the funky odor.

 

[Fish Chris 2]

We use an ozone generator to clean mildew and mold smells from flooded residences.

One word of caution: Ozone will eat or oxidize certain materials. Gold-plated sunglasses, gold-plated speaker terminals, certain plastics and copper can suffer from long-term exposure to ozone.

If you go that route, I suggest only momentary blasts of ozone.

As for toxic chlorine gas, we no use. We no use.

For sure. Short periods of time, with the ozone generator when I first try it, and then only as long as I need it..... Followed by a good, long air out.
We actually had an issue where our built in patio flooded once, and now, even if the air even gets damp, during rain and such, it gets a little mildew smell, so we plan to use the ozone generator out there too

 

[Ayrton]

Considering the number of preowned vehicles that get ozoned every day at dealerships, I doubt there is any significant risk to speakers.

You can check your condensation drains in your car. They become clogged, water build up becomes stagnant, you smell the difference.

 

[Fish Chris 2]

Considering the number of preowned vehicles that get ozoned every day at dealerships, I doubt there is any significant risk to speakers.

You can check your condensation drains in your car. They become clogged, water build up becomes stagnant, you smell the difference.

Well I'm going to try the ozone generator just as soon as I get it. So I hope that's true.

Yea, with my last car, my AC would build up so much water, it would litterally start making a gurgling sound and quit blowing air. I took it to the dealer and they checked the condensation drain and said it was fine. But everytime I'd drive it for a few hours non stop in the rain, it would start doing it again. Took it to the dealer like two more times, and they never could figure it out. So I gave up. Sold it a couple years later. My Prius doesn't do all that, and the fan keeps working, but it is obviously getting a lot of moisture building up, then sitting in their and growing mildew / mold.
After zapping it with ozone, I'm going to make a conscious effort to switch to outside air (away from recirculating) an hour or two before I'm done driving.

Btw, when I'm Uber driving (with a Prius) I don't turn off my car, or even the AC, even when I'm parked or waiting on rides, or even sleeping in my car. The gas motor only comes on for maybe 2 minutes, once every 10-20 minutes to charge the big battery, then shuts back off on it's own. So my AC fan often operates for 14 hrs straight, or more.
Heck, on weekends at Tahoe last year, my AC would sometimes operate from Saturday 10 am, until Sunday at 8 or 10 pm... What's that, 36 hrs straight ?

 

[Thomasluke7899]

Well I'm going to try the ozone generator just as soon as I get it. So I hope that's true.

Yea, with my last car, my AC would build up so much water, it would litterally start making a gurgling sound and quit blowing air. I took it to the dealer and they checked the condensation drain and said it was fine. But everytime I'd drive it for a few hours non stop in the rain, it would start doing it again. Took it to the dealer like two more times, and they never could figure it out. So I gave up. Sold it a couple years later. My Prius doesn't do all that, and the fan keeps working, but it is obviously getting a lot of moisture building up, then sitting in their and growing mildew / mold.
After zapping it with ozone, I'm going to make a conscious effort to switch to outside air (away from recirculating) an hour or two before I'm done driving.

Btw, when I'm Uber driving (with a Prius) I don't turn off my car, or even the AC, even when I'm parked or waiting on rides, or even sleeping in my car. The gas motor only comes on for maybe 2 minutes, once every 10-20 minutes to charge the big battery, then shuts back off on it's own. So my AC fan often operates for 14 hrs straight, or more.
Heck, on weekends at Tahoe last year, my AC would sometimes operate from Saturday 10 am, until Sunday at 8 or 10 pm... What's that, 36 hrs straight ?

Sleeping between rides...in Atlanta you have to turn the app off.
Or it's just a constant barrage of pings. Even with no surge.
I have not excepted a ride outside of a mile to me in over a year.
And I can't imagine sitting in the car for 36 hours straight.....the smells gotta be coming from somewhere. Lol

 

[Old'sCool]

For sure. Short periods of time, with the ozone generator when I first try it, and then only as long as I need it..... Followed by a good, long air out.
We actually had an issue where our built in patio flooded once, and now, even if the air even gets damp, during rain and such, it gets a little mildew smell, so we plan to use the ozone generator out there too

We got a call from a hotel in Charlotte, asking if we had anything to get cigar smells out.

I told them ozone, and they said they tried it already. When we showed up with the big blue ozone generator, the manager was like...OH! That's way bigger. I told her we can't even run the thing unless the adjacent rooms are vacant!

Two 15 minute sessions with the AC blasting at the same time, and the only thing that still stank was the mattress. We bagged it, zapped it for 20 min, and it smelled new.

I have a smaller unit we use at home to de-stink the kids' shoes. You'd be amazed what ozone will refresh, as long as you don't overdo it! Slap the shoes in a box on the deck, run it for a few hours, no more wet Doritos smell.

I gotta add - many of the AmazonBay generators are quite sketchy. They make waaay more ozone than needed.

The smaller unit I use is called "Air Tiger," and is commonly found at hydroponics shops for...um...skunky things. The Air Tiger is pretty safe compared to the industrial strength stuff, and the unregulated "Buy it Now" specials.

 

[Ayrton]

I have this one

MA10K-PRODIGI Ozone Generator

The MA10K-PRODIGI has an adjustable ozone output depending on the size of the space and the level of smell. A digital control panel makes for easy adjustments.

airthereal.com

Looks like the problem is common on the Prius

Bad smell in the air conditioning system

Hi my Plug-n Prius develops a bad smell in spring when the warm weather comes and again in autumn. The local Toyota seevicemen have repeatedly changed...

priuschat.com

 

[Old'sCool]

I have this one

MA10K-PRODIGI Ozone Generator

The MA10K-PRODIGI has an adjustable ozone output depending on the size of the space and the level of smell. A digital control panel makes for easy adjustments.

airthereal.com

Looks like the problem is common on the Prius

Bad smell in the air conditioning system

Hi my Plug-n Prius develops a bad smell in spring when the warm weather comes and again in autumn. The local Toyota seevicemen have repeatedly changed...

priuschat.com

Man! That's great for $139! Most that price have a shoddy potentiometer adjustment that hardly works. I may pick one of those up for leaving in gutted flood homes overnight. That way if some meth head swipes it, we're not out $1600.

 

[Fish Chris 2]

Sleeping between rides...in Atlanta you have to turn the app off.
Or it's just a constant barrage of pings. Even with no surge.
I have not excepted a ride outside of a mile to me in over a year.
And I can't imagine sitting in the car for 36 hours straight.....the smells gotta be coming from somewhere. Lol

Well constant pings here too > in certain times and places. But not like late night or super early morning in Tahoe... Or the airport, where you have to wait in a que anyway.

 

[Fish Chris 2]

I have this one

MA10K-PRODIGI Ozone Generator

The MA10K-PRODIGI has an adjustable ozone output depending on the size of the space and the level of smell. A digital control panel makes for easy adjustments.

airthereal.com

Looks like the problem is common on the Prius

Bad smell in the air conditioning system

Hi my Plug-n Prius develops a bad smell in spring when the warm weather comes and again in autumn. The local Toyota seevicemen have repeatedly changed...

priuschat.com

Well, and my last car too, which was a Hyundai Accent...