Truck only has 57,000 miles. I had my carpets cleaned in august and used my ac to dry them about 1 hour after they were done. A/c was on recirculate and a couple days later i used my a/c again for the first time since the carpets were cleaned and i was and still am getting a mildew smell but when i turn the heat on the smell goes away. I used lysol by spraying it in the intake for the vents to try to kill the mildew but it still smells. NOW a month later i get the odor even when the heat is on and i notice a few drips that come out the drain tube in the engine bay and i think its antifreeze. Does this mean my heater core is bad - cause i know you get the same odor when that is going bad as well. My heat still blows hot and a/c blows cold. The last thing ill add is everyday when i turn the heat on i hear a bang which i was told is the flap that closes and opens for the heat or a/c, could that cause anything?

 

Seeing excess water coming from the drain tube is NORMAL after having carpets cleaned. The AC evaporator, as a side effect of its cooling, condenses water onto the surface of of the evaporator core. This water comes from the atmosphere, and a shampooed interior will raise the relative humidity level of the vehicle.


The smells is also unfortunately normal, and it does stink. Bad. But it's a bad stink that's not the same as a radiator fluid smell. It'll honestly smell like radiator fluid in the vehicle if its leaky. Head to your local auto parts store and buy a can of those AC duct cleaner aerosols. Follow the directions and the smell should go away. They contain bacterial killers and enzymes to break down mold and mildew in the AC system.

 

Antifreeze will also fog up your windshield and smell sweet, not moldy.

 

Those AC anti bacteriol cans are awesome!
That should as spreads said, kill that "musty" smell.
It did in my 03.
Al.

 

I used lysol which kills bacteria and it didnt work. Also the drain is dripping something other than water b/c its leaving a shine on the metal its dripping on.

 

My man, lysol won't do it. You need something to break down the growth in there. Lysol kills 99.9% of bacteria on surfaces... in your kitchen. It's not designed to penetrate and work in an AC system.