AC Smell - Best way to use Nextzett Klima Cleaner?

[STooK]

My car's developed that gym bag smell when I turn the AC on, so I replaced the cabin filters and it did not solve the problem. I dug a little deeper into the matter and found that it's the mold on the evaporator that is causing the smell and you have to use a cleaner to get rid of it.

https://www.amazon.com/nextzett-9611.../dp/B0002Z2MKO

This is the product that kept coming up over and over so I am going to order it and attempt it myself. Now this is where I hit a roadblock. The tutorials I've found shows the extension tube being sucked down the center vents as far as they go. However, I've read that the only sure way to get rid of the smell is to spray it directly on to the evaporator itself.

I've searched and have an idea where the evaporator is, but what is the best way to get to it? I also thought I read that you can go in through the evaporator drain on the bottom of the car, but again, I have no idea where that is. I know many of you have used this product, so I'm looking for a little guidance.

Thanks in advance!

[///M Power-Belgium]

[drrust]

There are several on line videos documenting this application on BMWs. Generally you remove the cabin filter on the passenger side. You will see the fan intake. If I remember correctly they turn in the fan and start spraying.

[Mvy]

The in cabin air filter is at the very back of the motor right under the windshield glass. There are two big black plastic boxes. Unscrew to access the in cabin air filters. While off, you will notice the one on the left side has a vent opening. When you turn on the AC fan, it will open. Spray the entire can inside that opening with the system running. When done replace the in cabin air filters and covers. Good luck!

[wyatth]

Read good reviews and also have this sitting with new cabin filters ready to go in. No smells now but hoping it’s good for the evap.

[Mvy]

Originally Posted by wyatth

Read good reviews and also have this sitting with new cabin filters ready to go in. No smells now but hoping it’s good for the evap.

It wont do any harm, and it might neutralize some of the acids that build up and cause pin holes.

[dparm]

I would start with the center vent method (like it says on the bottle) and see how it goes. I have found that it's all about regular maintenance -- doing this once or twice a year is much more effective than an atom bomb on the evaporator every few years. I like to use it every spring and fall, which is the same time I change my wiper blades.

[STooK]

Hey guys, just received my can of Nextzett in the mail. Before I screw something up, I just want to make sure that I'm following what this guy is doing in the video.

So turn the AC on max with the recirculating OFF, remove the cabin filter on the passenger side, and dump the whole can into the vent that opens up right? What do I do afterwards? Let it run for a few minutes? Hope this works!

[Richbot]

FWIW I used to get this with heavy AC use pretty reliably unless I switched off half a mile from home. I installed the the Burger Motorsport cabin filter thingies and the car no longer gets smells in the cabin even running on recirc. Wonder if the factory filter boxes just don’t allow enough flow from natural convection to evaporate the condensation

[Mvy]

Originally Posted by STooK

Hey guys, just received my can of Nextzett in the mail. Before I screw something up, I just want to make sure that I'm following what this guy is doing in the video.

So turn the AC on max with the recirculating OFF, remove the cabin filter on the passenger side, and dump the whole can into the vent that opens up right? What do I do afterwards? Let it run for a few minutes? Hope this works!

Thats it! It will have a light deodorizer smell for a few weeks after. The intensity decreases very quickly so if it bothers right after treatment you open the windows and run the AC on the freeway on max to clear out the initial smell.

[6ixSpd]

Strange.... I've never had an odour from the AC of any of the BMWs I've owned. Even my 200k+ KM ones. I have a habit of shutting the AC off about 30s/1 minute before I anticipate parking the car upon arriving at my destination and it seems to have curbed any of these mildew odors.

[Mvy]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

Strange.... I've never had an odour from the AC of any of the BMWs I've owned. Even my 200k+ KM ones. I have a habit of shutting the AC off about 30s/1 minute before I anticipate parking the car upon arriving at my destination and it seems to have curbed any of these mildew odors.

You have good BMW AC hygiene 6SPD! Thats the method recommended to dry excess moisture from the evap (run just outside air with no ac button pressed 20-30 mins before you park the car. If you do that, you are likely not to have evap odor problems. I think the moisture build up left to sit is part of what causes pin holes in the evap and AC problems later.

[STooK]

So I wanted to give an update on this. I know it's been a while since I made the post but I actually ended up doing it finally about a month or two ago when I started needing to use AC again for the summer.

Process was fairly easy, I opened up the cabin filter, saw the brown cover and opening, squeezed the straw in there and dumped the whole can in there with the AC running. Car immediately started smelling citrus-y and fresh. For the next few drives, there were no more odors once the AC started up but I was also shutting the AC off 2-3 minutes before I shut the car off. So everything was finally back to normal, or so I thought.

Just last week, I noticed the familiar mildew odor again when I turned the AC on. And since then it has gotten worse and now the odor is back full time. I don't understand why it would return since I followed the procedure to turn ac off before I shut off the car. Could it be because I have the recirculation set to AUTO? I read you want to keep that off when running the AC but could that have brought the odor back in just a couple months from application?

I'm about to buy another can and do another treatment but if it returns again I don't know what else to do. Anyone have any idea why it's coming back?

[amrazM]

Order this 83192360464

Turn ac onto full blast recirc and leave this inside spraying for 15 minutes

[Mvy]

Sometimes when its really moist/hot in GA I have to do it twice a summer. Try one more time with another can, and see if it helps. I notice no smells during winter. I didn't notice any difference running Auto. It might be better to run a slower cycle like in the middle vs max air to see if gives the cleaner more contact time on the evap.

[STooK]

Thanks guys, I’m gona do another treatment. I did watch a new video on it where the guy goes under the passenger side glove compartment to remove the blower motor to shoot the klima directly to the evap. Now I think this is unnecessary and the removing cabin filter is the best way but he did say to leave it on there for about 20 min. So I think I’m going to try emptying the can thru underneath the cabin filter, shut the car off and leave it for 20 min then turn it back on.

Hopefully this does the trick, I’ll report back once I do the treatment.

[Richbot]

Originally Posted by Richbot

FWIW I used to get this with heavy AC use pretty reliably unless I switched off half a mile from home. I installed the the Burger Motorsport cabin filter thingies and the car no longer gets smells in the cabin even running on recirc. Wonder if the factory filter boxes just don’t allow enough flow from natural convection to evaporate the condensation

FWIW this is still true today for me. Heavy AC use all summer no smells.

[STooK]

Originally Posted by Richbot

FWIW this is still true today for me. Heavy AC use all summer no smells.

What exactly is the product you used? Is it the cabin filter made by bms?

[Mvy]

Originally Posted by STooK

What exactly is the product you used? Is it the cabin filter made by bms?

I think they are talking about this:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-burger-m...-cowl-filte90/

Burger Motorsports ES#3508643

I would go this route personally except in the case of my setup it really increases cabin noise with a super charger.

[STooK]

Update

Used the second cleaner a few days ago, again right through the blower motor on top, emptied the entire can with fan on medium. Turned the car off, let it sit for 30 minutes before turning it back on and putting the AC on max blast for a couple minutes. The first time I didn't let it sit, but second time I did and the smell inside the cabin was very strong but aired out pretty quick.

Second time driving the car, the cleaner smell was still around but went away quickly with the window open. Turned on the AC, no odor! I guess it finally worked. But nope, the next day I turn the AC on and right away the odor was present again. And now it's back once again, in less than a week.

Frustrated, I watched this very informative video on youtube. It tells you to remove the blower motor and spray the foam directly into the evap. The whole process looked intimidating but after watching it carefully, it seems pretty simple and I just ordered 2 more klima cans and a brand new set of OEM cabin filters to finally nip this in the butt. I'm going to drain one can directly into the evap and another can into the vents incases there's anything in there. I'll report back once I do so hopefully with some good news.

[6ixSpd]

This can so easily be avoided by shutting the AC off (but keep the fan going) a minute before arriving at your destination and turning the car off.

This habit has kept every single one of my vehicles' HVAC systems stench free since I got licensed...

[STooK]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

This can so easily be avoided by shutting the AC off (but keep the fan going) a minute before arriving at your destination and turning the car off.

This habit has kept every single one of my vehicles' HVAC systems stench free since I got licensed...

Yes I started doing that as well but since the mold is still there the smell kept coming back. Once I get rid of the mold for good I’ll do this and hopefully it won’t return.