Air Vent Spring Detox

The weather is warming up and that means you’ve got more time (and probably motivation) to clean out your vehicle. A great place to start, if we may say, is your air vents. There’s nothing to make your vehicle feel a little cleaner than a sweet smell blowing through the air vents! And especially if you have allergies or overheat easily or just prefer the air conditioning, you’re going to be using those vents all through the spring and summer. So, without further ado, here is our easy guide to getting your air vents clean and your entire air system smelling fresh as a daisy!

The first thing is to clean the vents themselves. All you need for this is some cleaning solution, white vinegar, a vacuum, and Q-tips. Vacuum out all the vents (including the one right up against your windshield) and then get into the cracks and crevices with a Q-tip soaked in the cleaning solution. Do a second pass with a vinegar-soaked Q-tip, and then wipe the whole thing down with a clean rag or microfiber cloth. The vinegar might smell strong to begin with, but it neutralizes odors and after the vinegar smell fades, there’s no smell left except freshness!

Your next step is checking on your cabin air filter. There should be directions on how to access it in your vehicle owner’s manual. This air filter traps all kinds of things and filters the air coming into the cabin of the vehicle (self-explanatory, I know). This means that the filter traps pollen, dust, and smells. You can find what type of air filter your vehicle needs in your owner’s manual, or you can schedule an appointment with us to have the filter changed!

The last thing is that you might have mildew in your air conditioner evaporator. This is a slim chance coming into spring, but if when you run the air you smell something similar to musty, dirty socks… well, then you might have mildew in your AC evaporator. Anyway, this is handy to know so we’ll tell you how to get rid of that. All you need to do is warm up your vehicle’s engine by driving… about a mile from home will do the trick. Then, find a place to stop safely and roll down all of your windows and run the air on full blast for a few minutes. NOT the air conditioning, just the regular old air. This should circulate air through the system at a good pace to get rid of any standing water and dry up any mildew that’s sitting in there.

With these tips, you can start on your car cleaning project by making sure your vehicle smells fresh and clean. It’s easy and very gratifying!