[D_o_S]

Hi guys and gals,

this is easier than it seems, but I just put together some ideas that may not be immediately obvious.

First, I decided to use the Sonax Air Con disinfectant, this one:
http://www.billigbilpleje.dk/product...ns-150-ml-451/
(for some reason, I cannot find an English place that sells it)

Now, you can watch their video, but I suggest you watch the Liqui Moly one:

You can see that they've done a smart thing by positioning the spray can at an angle = the spray gets into the air con system easily, more directly and in a higher concentration than with the Sonax method (placing the spray can behind the passenger seat). I suggest you therefore use a piece of wood or something to "angle" the can.

WEAR PROTECTIVE GLASSES if you have a habbit of being messy.

So, what do you do?

1) Go for a drive, warm up the engine. You'll have to leave it idling for 10 minutes, which prolly isn't the best thing to do on a cold engine.
2) When you're on your way back home, switch of the compressor on the air con (snowflake symbol), and turn the temperature up a bit (approx 25 C should be OK)
-This will dry the evaporator and make sure that the cleaning spray is not diluted by the water on the evaporator
3) Come back home, park the car. Switch on the compressor, set the temperature to about 22 C.
- I'm not sure how the venting works based on compressor on/off, you want to make sure that the disinfectant gets to the compressor, so I turned it on
4) Switch the aircon to recirculation (not auto recirc, but full recirc), move fan speed up to maximum, set the blowers to upper body and mid body. Make sure all vents are open (including the rear ones).
- you don't want to activate the foot vents right now, as they could create a current in the footwells = disinfectant will not go anywhere.
5) Move the passenger's seat as back as it will go
6) Take your can of disinfectant, shake well.
7) Place your plank/makeshift LIQUI MOLY-style holder infront of the passenger's seat. Make sure the can aims at the vents under the dash.
8) Press the trigger on the can, set it up in your apparatus, get out of the car, close the door and watch the spray head
- the spray only lasts 3 or so minutes
9) After 3 minutes, the spray will probably stop spraying. Don't worry, wait another 7 minutes (=total 10 minutes) without doing anything.
10) Now, get in the car, remove the spray can at your liking (be careful - it might squirt some liquid!), and switch off upper/mid body ventilation, and switch it to feet ventilation. Close the door, wait another 5 minutes.
11) Open all doors. Wait at your discretion.
12) Get in the car, rev the engine or go for a drive.
13) Dry the evaporator once more by switching the compressor off.
14) DONE! Enjoy your AC.
15) You might want to check the plastic in the footwell, there might be some liquid from the spray that condensed in the form of a protective layer - wipe off with your favorite interior cleaner.

ALTERNATIVES/VARIATIONS:
1) You can keep the disinfectant in the car - just don't open the doors at the end, but instead, just turn off the engine. This might leave a longer lasting effect.
2) If you have a bacterial killer air freshener, spray down your interior with it (especially the carpets, etc.) - bacteria like to grow here too. For a pleasant smell, you can spray down the microfilter - this leads to a nice smell when your turn on the ventilation/AC.

The spray might not work for you. If the spray fails, you can buy Einszett Klima Cleaner, which I also did, to my dismay. The thing is, this product just will not work with our cars IMHO - I'm hoping someone will chime in on how to actually use it. What I tried:
1) Center vent. Tube will not go in more than approx 20 cm
2) Side vent. Tube will go in competely
3) Floor vent. Tube will not go in more than a few cenimetres.
4) Remove microfilter, go through passenger's side opening, where you can see the fan. I can't get past the fan. Since Einszett Klima Cleaner is not electronics safe, I don't want to spray it at the fan.
5) BMW TIS instructions on AC cleaning - remove the bottom panel, then the fan, then spray. I tried this but I ended at removing the bottom panel - after I took it out, I couldn't get it back in! The trick is to move it all the way back, then press on the back/center panel part, and then move the whole thing up to fit it back. The fan seems obscured, and it looks like removing the ducting could work, but this was just not worth my hassle.

So, unless someone tells me how to use it, I must conclude that the Einszett Klima Cleaner is UNSUITABLE FOR USE in our cars.

That's all folks.

[D_o_S]

Bump for an update...

[Neutrino45]

Thanks for the DIY!