Moldy smell coming from AC

[BMWMN1971]

After one long and tough winter in MN this last weekend was 70F and I was able to turn the AC on for the first time since I got my F15 last November. However, I couldn't stand too long since the mold/musty smell coming from the vents was really bad. Any thoughts on how to get rid of this?

[Eu001939]

Typical if you haven't used AC a while. Had this twice on my F10.

Your dealer has a procedure to clean-out the AC which works perfect and gets rid of all smells.

If you pressure them a bit they will do this under warranty

[MRV99]

This is a common issue with BMW. Why??? That is because BMW owners want the cabin to cool instantly and to help accommodate the demanding customer, the cold exchanges as many many tightly grouped fins to provide a larger surface area to cool. The plus side is cools the air quicker, the bad side is it provides smaller and tighter areas for dust and water to mix and stick. This provides a great environment for mold when you shut the car off and it heats up. To help reduce or prevent this, a BMW tech told me to do the following. It has done wonders for my BMW's

When you are close to your destination about 1-2 mins, he suggested to shut off the AC(aka the AC button) and keep the fan running. He also suggested on days which there it is more humid, to run the fan higher. This will stop the condensation process since the coils are not cooling anymore and the fan will begin to dry them off. usually the first min will still have cool air and then you will feel it change to cabin temp. I have been doing this on my 2012 X5 and 2011 M3 and there is no musty smell unlike my past 550's and X5's when I did not employ this technique.