# Interior mold ordor **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** dakota, dodge\ **Created:** [December 7, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413 "2010-12-07T20:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mghess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mghess](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mghess)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413/1 "2010-12-07T20:29:53Z")
I have a 2004 Dodge Dakota I bought used. Every time I turn the heater / defroster on I smell a mold odor. I am very alergic to mold and develope a nasty sinus headache and runny nose very quickly. Question: is their a filter I can change at the air intake point & ( where is it ) Could I mist a bleach water mix at the intake area? Hoping that the bleach gets sucked up and kills the mold where ever it is. I am desperate. I thought I heard some where on a show ( maybe yours ) a caller having this same problem but I only caught the tail end of the conversation. please help, its too cold now to go with out heat. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413/2 "2010-12-07T20:36:51Z")
Turn the car on and roll down all the windows. Turn the heater on at half heat, set it to foot-defrost, and turn the blower on high. Dump an entire can of Lysol into the intake vents (below the driver side wiper on the outside). ---
**Author:** ![twotone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@twotone](https://community.cartalk.com/u/twotone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413/3 "2010-12-07T21:13:16Z")
Do a vehicle history check on car fax and other sites. Sounds like it had water damage in the past. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413/4 "2010-12-07T21:22:27Z")
Eh, maybe. More likely that the previous owner spent years shutting the car off after having run the air conditioner, without letting the system run on vent for a minute or two first. The cold air vents then condense moisture on themselves, and then they warm up. Warm, wet, and dark is mold’s favorite growth environment. ---
**Author:** ![waterboy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/waterboy/32/764_2.png) [@waterboy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/waterboy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413/5 "2010-12-07T23:49:17Z")
Tom and Ray have many times suggested having the ac drip hose blown out, as moisture not released by a clogged drip tube could be a source of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![erichdalton](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/erichdalton/32/1765_2.png) [@erichdalton](https://community.cartalk.com/u/erichdalton)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/interior-mold-ordor/58413/6 "2011-05-07T18:21:24Z")
Shadowfax, I have a question. My dealer also told me to let the A/C run on VENT before shutdown BUT… I live in Florida and most of the year the weather is hot and humid. If I let the outside air in through the A/C system then I am bringing warm moist air to condense on the evaporator coils and foster mold. I believe that recirculating the interior air dries out the air and limits the amount of moisture to foster mold. Any coment from Click and Clack or others?