Air condition getting the family sick?

Any odd smells?

Water vapour can condense and start growing stuff in there.

 

Why does she think this?

 

Maybe get a cabin air filter that has 'activated carbon impregnated' on the box. Spend a lot of money. Show her box and receipt?

Hey, I remember when cigarettes with activated carbon filters were advertised on TV.

 

Uh no just harder to pull air thru etc . . . She's talking bout startup smell. Really kinda ole wives tale. Yes they're a smell at start up. But not really related to mold . More of a mildew.

 

She's smelling the moisture on the AC condendser... It's very subtle and only smells when there's moisture is present. When its dry it won't smell (when heater is on) and when AC has been on for a long time and condenser is mostly frozen it won't smell. So pre-cooling the car would help, as well as always keep the AC on, which is bad for MPG and might get too cold, unless you get the venting right.

Also, buy the least expensive carbon impregnated cabin air filter and change it often...

Also deep cleaning the interior of the car with the type of cleaner smell that your wife prefers. If that doesn't work get the interior professionally cleaned. If that doesn't work remove the vents and clean them and put some essential oil (that your wife likes the smell of) on the insides of them.

If that doesn't work there's a foaming spray cleaner designed to spray on the AC condenser that's deep inside the dashboard, though access isn't easy, but I suspect there's threads on here about how to do it.

I used condenser spray cleaner on my Travel Trailer AC condenser last year and it says it doesn't need to be rinsed after you spray it on, but I used my water pick that I use for my teeth on it and I suspect the rinse helped.

 

Use an evaporator foam cleaner injected into the condensate drain. It is made to clear up mold.

 

consult with her doctor?

 

Evap is inside part that gets cold .condenser is the outside part.in front of car .

 

Thanks, I always get those reversed...

 

The cold Evaporator absorbs heat and condenses water on its surface to reduce humidity in the cabin.

In cooling mode, water condensation must be drained through a tube to outside.

Heat pumps (plugin and evs) reverse coil functions in heat.

Which is why most hvac techs now refer to "inside" and "outside" units, which is clear and independent of function.

Mold and mildew can grow on the indoor coil and is removed with specialized coil cleaner foam described above. It is effective and does not require direct access to the indoor coil.

 

I just keep my fan on low. If I use my AC, I'll turn-off the pump 5-10 minutes before reaching my destination - so the heat exchangers stay dry. No smells, no fuss....

 

+1.
I can sympathize with the "Spouse thinks" aspect of this issue but really.....how humid does it GET in LA?
In the deep south the temps and humidity are in a daily race to see which one gets to triple digits first....so I too used to make it a habit to turn the compressor off before arriving in my company Prius.
It's never been an issue for my personal cars.

If she manages the money, and some of actions detailed in the posts above do not help, then tell her you need $500 in cash.
Pay a dealer or AC repair shop $100 for a $500 repair receipt and buy $400 worth of lottery tickets.
The result will probably be the same and who knows?
You might get some of your money back with the lottery tickets.

If you manage the money then just jack $500 out of your operating funds and place it into savings or buy something smarter than lottery tickets.
Nearly ALL THINGS are.

Good Luck!

 

Mold... certainly possible this is the cause of said illness.

You can try the Toyota products listed in post 8.
BG products also make a similar product.
That service is the first step

You can do this "service" DIY, I have before, yet found that once
may not be enough. Do a second service a week later.

One issue with the mold is that it has attached to all the plastic ducting.
The disassembly and cleaning of the entire system is burdensome.

I have also seen many remove the carbon filter and spray a can of Lysol
through the cowl's fresh air vent... with the fan on high AC off.

Whether it is truly making the family sick, guess you'll find out.
Good luck.

PS Once serviced, a best practice is to turn the AC off 5 minutes before you park,
as an effort to reduce the moisture built up in the system. GM has a setting termed
"After Blow" keeps the AC fan on for a while after engine shut down... not
sure about Toyota.