How to Clean the Air Vent for Clear Fresh Air

If the car has an unpleasant smell, most car owners will immediately think about cleaning the whole interior including the floor mat, dashboard, window and everything but the air vents. But in fact, air vents should actually be the first one to be cleaned. Air vents are not only responsible for cooling the temperature but also circulating the air. In other words, it determines the quality of the air. If the air vents are not cleaned properly, it would reduce the air quality, which will directly affect the comfort inside the car.

The air vents are the knot of the air circulation, which explains why the dust gathers densely on the air vents. Overlooking the cleanness of air vents could make the cabin filled with odor, lower the air quality and cause allergy or even spread respiratory diseases.

Cleaning the air vent is a difficult and time-consuming task, but the hard work pays off. Here are some air vent cleaning tips suggested by IndianAuto team that you can apply for impressive results.

1. What to prepare before cleaning the air vents

What is the last time you clean the air vents of your car?

Dusting off the air vent is the first step and also the most essential step toward a better air. Among many tools to clean the air vent, foam paint-brushes are considered as one of the most efficient. These paint-brushes could get to the well-hidden surface like the slats of the air vents where the dust clusters most. Foam brushes could absorb the dust easily. On the top of that, they are available at a very cheap price.

Besides the foam brushes, you should also use detergent liquor. There is also some cheap and easy-to-follow home-made recipe for car washing. You would need to mix vinegar or lemon juice with warm water to clean the air vents.

2. How to clean the air vents

When you have all the necessary tools, you can move toward the main task of cleaning.

Step 1: One useful air vent cleaning tip is to use the foam brush to polish the slats. Before that, dip the foam brush into the detergent to boost the efficiency. You can turn on the fan while brushing the slats, it will help to blow the dust out more quickly.

With the tight spots that the brush could not reach to, you could insert cotton swabs instead.

It is also very important to clean the vent under the dash. The underneath vent is not visible but it is still a part of the systems. You cannot execute a thorough cleaning and bring out the best if the vents underneath are left uncluttered.

Foam brush is a great tool for cleaning air vents

Step 2: For a car with strong odor, you need to splash on the air intake vent as well as the air vent with the disinfectant or odor treatment for automobiles in order to effectively send the cleaning agent all over the cabin.

Step 3: After spraying the disinfectant, turn on the air conditioner and the fans for about ten minutes. Then, turn off the air conditioner and open all the window while keeping the fan on. The practice of running fans while keeping the air conditioner off should be done regularly, once every two or three months. This is an easy way to hamper the development of mold.

Disinfectant will cure bad smell of the air vents

If the air vents of your car are removable, you can detach and wash them. And it will be much easy.

You are basically done with the air vent cleaning process with these easy steps. But to develop a comprehensive cleaning, you might have to try further solutions. One of which is to replace the air filter. However, this tip is only usable in models with replaceable air filter.

Knowing the way to clean the air vent will drastically improve the air quality and enhance the comfort inside the car. Hopefully, this guide on how to clean the air vents could help you to keep the interior air as clean as possible.

Read more car cleaning tips from IndianAuto:

• How to clean the engine bay

• 8 easy hacks to keep your car interior clean