Several months ago hamster got loose in my 2019 F150 and climbed up behind the gas pedal, where it subsequently died. It must have gotten into the air-conditioning system, as that was smelling wretched. A couple of weeks after it initially happened a mechanic removed as much as he could, and tried to clean it. However, we still smell a weird, pungent smell coming out of the driver side AC vents, whether the AC or just the blower is on. I’m assuming it is mold or mildew caused by the hamster. You can’t really smell it on the passenger side. I’ve injected cleaner through the condensation drain, put enzyme cleaner in the cowling, and had an enzymatic cleaning done on the inside of the truck with the interior air flow. I’ve even tried some (non enzymatic) cleaner directly into the driver side vents.

The smell is still there. I’m really at a loss as to what to do. It would seem to be somewhere in the driver side, ductwork, but I’m surprised that the professional enzymatic cleaning would not have resolved that. Looking for any thoughts on possible next steps. Thank you.

 

At the MB dealer I worked as a tech. When we got a customer's car in with the dirty diaper smell. Run the A/C. Spray LYSOL heavily into the air intake near the windshield wipers. shut car off and leave overnight. This works

 

Worked for me too. Take cabin filter out first, and replace afterwards.

 

My goto for bed smells in the AC system has always been this. Also worked when a mouse made a nest in the vent fan on one of my mothers cars

https://www.bgprod.com/708/