Mildew Smell

occasionally turn off the comp and run the blower to dry out the evap,, make sure the drain is open also.

 

I can add one thing to that which should help quite a bit. I always turn the AC compressor OFF a couple of minutes before reaching my destination, and leave the recirc. ON with the fan at medium or a tad higher. This allows the evaporator to come up to a non-condensing temperature before you shut down.

Make sure the air intake remains in "recirc" as the cabin air is already de-humidified and you don't want to pump the evaporator coil full of highly humid outside air till its warmed and dried off.

 

I wish I had taken photos before I sold the Prius. I drilled a pilot hole about 2.5 inches in from the firewall. I had a fiber optic inspection scope from work that I could borrow, made sure I wouldn't drill into the e-coil.

Then drilled the 1/2 hole. I chose 1/2 because electrical knockout plugs are that size, so very easy to close when done. Sprayed in the NuCalgon EvapFresh, problem solved

Here are some shop manual drawings of the Prius HVAC

Yep, most of the stuff is just powerful perfume that temporarily masks the mildew smell. You also have to be careful to use a product that is compatible/safe with the material the e-coil is constructed with

As an example, it would be tempting to use laundry bleach to "clean" the coil. Sodium hypochlorite will absolutely kill any mold/mildew in the e-coil. It will also destroy the aluminum fins and copper tubing of the e-coil

NuCalgon EvapFresh is not only designed to be effective and SAFE for e-coils, it is also EPA certified to work as intended

Now that you mention it, I have a Bryant Evolution system: variable speed gas furnace with 2 speed outdoor A/C unit, all hooked up to the Bryant Evolution control system

That means I can program it for dehumidification priority. So it will run almost constantly on the lowest speed

And stink like thousands of pairs of jockey straps unless I regularly treat the e-coil with EvapFresh

 

Um, we don't have the issue, because we used a recommended and effective product (on the evap core too) to eliminate the issue.
Are the products the same? Never heard of Ozium. I'll look it up to see what the active ingredients are - compared to DM-1:

Ozium: Triethylene glycol & Propylene Glycol: Applications are multiple - from perfume, to solvent, to antifreeze, to food additive, to anticeptic, to de-icing, to deoderant, to food flavoring and more;
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol]Propylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triethylene_glycol]Triethylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

DM-1: Isothiazolinone: Strictly created as an Antimicrobal [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isothiazolinone]Isothiazolinone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I welcome any expertise, but since you've only offered the 'crap' word, without citing any authority, I'm happy to leave it at that. Good luck with finding some alternate solution. I'll stick by the one suggested by an AC guy.


.

 

[QUOTE=hill;1144058]Um, we don't have the issue, because we used a recommended and effective product (on the evap core too) to eliminate the issue.
Are the products the same? Never heard of Ozium. I'll look it up to see what the active ingredients are - compared to DM-1:

Ozium: Triethylene glycol & Propylene Glycol: Applications are multiple - from perfume, to solvent, to antifreeze, to food additive, to anticeptic, to de-icing, to deoderant, to food flavoring and more;
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol"]Propylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triethylene_glycol"]Triethylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

DM-1: Isothiazolinone: Strictly created as an Antimicrobal [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isothiazolinone"]Isothiazolinone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I welcome any expertise, but since you've only offered the 'crap' word, without citing any authority, I'm happy to leave it at that. Good luck with finding some alternate solution. I'll stick by the one suggested by an AC guy.


Now you state that you used it on the evap core. Thats fine. Your previous post did not say that. How do you apply it directly to
the evap core?

Spraying it on the filter or in the filter vent does nothing.
Been cleaning e-coils for lets see 35 years now and only way I've ever seen work is a liquid anti-microidial usually applied with a bug sprayer. Until the dealer came out with the compressed air can with a foamy version of that and the special nozzle it was a struggle to get directly to the e-coil with any cleaner.
Which is why Jayman drilled a hole in the housing.

Not looking for an alternate solution. My whole post was about how the dealer recommended fix does work.

 

That is correct, the e-coil is up against the firewall side, the heater core is at an angle towards the passenger cabin

Obviously, there is risk involved in drilling into the housing. Hitting the heater core will result in an expensive repair bill, hitting the e-coil will result in a VERY expensive repair bill

Considering that TSB's are out for both the Prius and the FJ, and possibly other Toyota models, for the mildew A/C problem, you would think Toyota would engineer in a small door that can be easily opened to allow application of proper disinfectant

The TSB that calls for replacing the e-coil, seems very excessive and ultimately will fail as well. It has been my experience that any sort of coating applied to the coil, such as NuCalgon CalShield

Nu-Calgon: Products: Coil Cleaners and Sprayers

will not last forever. Then what? Replace the coil AGAIN?

Oddly enough, heavy duty highway tractors, such as those from Peterbilt and Kenworth, one can easily remove the entire e-coil with OUT evacuating the system. They are designed for easy cleaning

Right.

Not only that, as I stated in a previous post, there are a LOT of products that will work as a biocide. Thing is, are they safe for the metals used in typical e-coils? I used laundry bleach as an example of a product that would absolutely kill the mildew, but also destroy the e-coil in the process

Also keep in mind that a product that will work as a biocide, many are NOT safe to use in HVAC applications. These products, once aerosolized, can pose a significant health risk

The reason why I mentioned NuCalgon EvapFresh is because it has had extensive testing to ensure it is SAFE to both humans and the materials used in the e-coil. It is also EPA certified for use in HVAC systems, for the intended purpose

 

I use 409 and it works great. I spray into the cowl intake and put control to external air with fan on high.

 

Your welcome glad I could help!