Experts have explained ways to extend the life of an air conditioner in a car

There are several driving habits that help the car's climate system stay in good condition longer. LECAR specialists and expert allergist and immunologist Elena Moskayeva told Izvestia on June 23 how to delay problems with the air conditioning system.

So, experts advised turning off the A/C mode two to three minutes before parking, leaving only the fan running. This helps to dry the evaporator and reduce the amount of moisture remaining in the system after the vehicle stops. This technique will not cure an already polluted system, but it works well as a preventive measure, especially in summer and in wet weather.

In addition, experts do not recommend turning the recirculation mode into a permanent one. It is useful when the car is driving behind a smoking truck, on a dusty stretch of road or in an area of a pungent smell from the street. In a season of high pollen concentrations, recirculation helps to avoid dragging external allergens into the cabin, and closed windows further reduce their entry. But if you keep running the same air around the cabin for a long time, then stuffiness appears in the car faster, humidity increases, the windows begin to fog up, and the air quality subjectively becomes worse. Especially if there are several people in the cabin, and the trip is long.

Pollen and road dust settle not only in the filter, but also on mats, seats, panels, and fabric upholstery. Then they rise into the air again when moving, opening doors and running the fan. Therefore, the usual wet cleaning of the interior — cleaning mats, panels, door cards and other surfaces on which dust is clearly visible, as well as periodic treatment of hard—to-reach places - give quite a practical effect, experts noted.

If the car regularly drives with the windows open, transports animals, or often stands under trees, cleaning is better done not when a layer of dirt is already visible, but as a preventive measure, experts advised. A vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter is useful for fabric upholstery and carpets: a regular vacuum cleaner can partially return fine dust and pollen back into the air.

"The interior really should be vacuumed periodically, and ideally treated with steam. In the season of high pollen or dust concentrations, you can turn on the recirculation mode to avoid sucking in external allergens and keep the windows closed. But constant recirculation increases humidity, so it must be alternated with fresh air intake. Stagnation of water in the drainage of the air conditioner is also one of the main causes of the proliferation of fungi and bacteria," added Elena Moskayeva.

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Experts said on June 18 that the cabin filter in a car is usually changed at least once a year or according to regulations, but in real conditions the interval may be shortened. If you often have to drive through traffic jams, dusty roads, near construction sites, during the flowering season, or with passengers who are sensitive to dust and pollen, it is better to check the filter more often.