Air vents smelling like dirt after the hurricane…

2002 Tacoma, NO CABIN FILTER

During the recent hurricane, the winds were blowing like crazy and rain was heavy. Since the hurricane, I’ve noticed my cabin has a dirt smell to it, the AC isn’t as cold as usual, and the fan doesn’t blow as hard. I’m assuming stuff got blown into the cabin air intake where the windshield wipers rest.

Should I vacuum it? Flush it with water?

On a separate note, somehow the upholstery/insulation of my shell came undone, it was held together by hi-strength carpet glue. To be fair, it lasted for 4+ years since I upholstered it myself. Nothing I can’t fix on my own.

 

My third generation 4Runner also smelled funky after sitting outside during hurricane Katrina.

I had leaves and shit blasted in there.

 

I'd guess water got in somewhere and now there's mold causing the smell. And that stuff can be nasty.
I would not introduce any more water for that reason.

Remove any debris from the cowl area, and hopefully any moisture dries up and the smell goes away.

 

First change the cabin air filter being careful not to skim off any leaves or debris into the blower motor. Vacuum or remove the blower to clean out if anything gets in there before using the blower. Then you could remove the wipers and cowl cover and clean that out. Lysol or Frigi-Fresh could be used to disinfect the area if it's gotten funky from leaves, etc. If the evaporator is smelly use Frigi-Clean through a hole drilled between the resister and airbox. They make a straw like thin tube to be slid in toward the evaporator or a shrader valve used with the supplied screw on adapter hose with the blower running. There is also an option to apply Frigi=Clean from the drain tube but most of the funk would be on the incoming side of the evaporator core. The Toyota version of Frigi-Clean is not the same and does not seem to work as well. I had bought a can for the drain tube adapter.

 

I'd also pull the blower fan down and check that for debris. You said it the fan doesn't turn as fast it used to. That's why the newer trucks have cabin filters, they keep most of the crap out of the cabin. If you can, stick your shop vac hose up there as well.

 

I’m on a long haul and noticed something leaking by the glove box, has anyone had this happen before? AC is blowing ice cold, I’m assuming it’s something to do with a condenser

 

There was a bunch of totalled 4G tacoma on Copart with the tiniest amount of water damage. Some where the water line was just barely higher than the bottom of the doors.

For mold, I've had good luck with a peroxide-based cleaner like this for removal of visible mold and mildew:

Alpha-HP® Multi-Surface Disinfectant Cleaner | Diversey Global

A quat-based cleaner also works. Odoban from Sam's Club (or really anywhere but they have it cheapest) works too. Longer dwell time for molds.

This company sells chlorine dioxide tablets:

ODOR-CLO2 Chlorine Dioxide Tablets (1 x 500 grams / 1.1 Pound) - Safrax Chlorine Dioxide

There's an entire barge of shit with this company and its quackery, so stick to the facts on what these are for. These things are brilliant at fumigating your car to get into crevices, gaps, behind the dash, into vents etc. It is seriously creepy, like a WWI toxic battlefield. I've done it on a car before that had the sunroof left open in a downpour and the car smelled like a pus-filled locker room before treatment and stink free but slightly hospital for a few weeks after. The lingering hospital smell fades.

Seal the car up and leave it overnight, ideally in a garage or at least out of the sun. The tablets will begin emitting a very deep yellow toxic gas that oozes through the car killing literally everything. You can see it happening through the windows. Once you've let it sit for 12-24 hours, open all the windows and let it air out for a while. Don't breathe that shit. Strong oxidizer. Park it in the sun to neutralize the chlorine dioxide. UV inactivates it.

A carpet extractor will also help. Some all purpose cleaner, whatever your fancy, diluted about 10:1.

Example:
Superior Products 1 Gallon Concentrated Cleaner C671 | O'Reilly Auto P
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...or-products-1-gallon-carpet-cleaner/scp0/c791

 

This is the information I was looking for. Thank you