Nth Degree
New member
Cleaning the vents of a car can be very tedious and difficult a times. I have discovered a couple of tools that have helped tremendously.
These are the tools I use for vents.
The two I use the most, though, are the ones all the way to the right. I stumbled upon both of these tools at Majestic Solutions just walking through their store.
The little brush works great on all sort of interior cleaning when I need to get into small spaces. I start by spraying my APC, then use the tiny, single row of bristles to scrub if necessary. (Excuse the remaining dirt. I simply took these photos for demonstration and did not actually clean as I took them.)
Usually just wrapping a MF around it is enough since it is usually just dust I am having to remove. A thin MF works best for this and I can often get to every part of the inner slats by simply inserting, then a quick back and forth or up and down motion, just like you would with Q-tips. The rigidity of this and the large surface area of the MF is much more efficient, though. I have developed a rhythm to this so I isn't quite as tedious, but it is not something to rush.
A word of warning: Use extreme caution when inserting rigid objects into vents. Often times the rear slats or the directional lever can be easily knocked loose or broken. These can be very difficult to fix, if possible, or expensive to replace.
My favorite tool is this piece of plastic. It is tapered at each end and I believe it is intended for getting into seams of body panels, which it does well at but not as good as a depleted gift card or hotel room key. (More flexible than a credit card.)
The rigidity of this tool makes it ideal. Simply wrap a thin MF towel around it and It works wonders.
Not just on vents, but also in difficult to reach areas of consoles, between steering column and dash, deep instrument panels, etc. I wish I had picked up more than one. I'm not sure what I would do if I were to lose it. For the DIYer or in a pinch a popsicle stick will serve almost as well.
While it may not be as fast as using a compressor, with a little practice I have been able to get down to doing all dash vents in under 10 minutes for most vehicles or even 5 if they are just a little dusty.
These are the tools I use for vents.
The two I use the most, though, are the ones all the way to the right. I stumbled upon both of these tools at Majestic Solutions just walking through their store.
The little brush works great on all sort of interior cleaning when I need to get into small spaces. I start by spraying my APC, then use the tiny, single row of bristles to scrub if necessary. (Excuse the remaining dirt. I simply took these photos for demonstration and did not actually clean as I took them.)
Usually just wrapping a MF around it is enough since it is usually just dust I am having to remove. A thin MF works best for this and I can often get to every part of the inner slats by simply inserting, then a quick back and forth or up and down motion, just like you would with Q-tips. The rigidity of this and the large surface area of the MF is much more efficient, though. I have developed a rhythm to this so I isn't quite as tedious, but it is not something to rush.
A word of warning: Use extreme caution when inserting rigid objects into vents. Often times the rear slats or the directional lever can be easily knocked loose or broken. These can be very difficult to fix, if possible, or expensive to replace.
My favorite tool is this piece of plastic. It is tapered at each end and I believe it is intended for getting into seams of body panels, which it does well at but not as good as a depleted gift card or hotel room key. (More flexible than a credit card.)
The rigidity of this tool makes it ideal. Simply wrap a thin MF towel around it and It works wonders.
Not just on vents, but also in difficult to reach areas of consoles, between steering column and dash, deep instrument panels, etc. I wish I had picked up more than one. I'm not sure what I would do if I were to lose it. For the DIYer or in a pinch a popsicle stick will serve almost as well.
While it may not be as fast as using a compressor, with a little practice I have been able to get down to doing all dash vents in under 10 minutes for most vehicles or even 5 if they are just a little dusty.
lol