Cleaning out the A/C Vents

In my current quest to revamp my A/C system I heard about people using Lysol on the A/C outside air intake vent to try to sanitize the system. Basically running it at full and letting it suck in the Lysol or cleaner to, I guess, kill baterial or other musty things.

Has anyone ever done this?

 

Where is the AC outside air intake?

 

frigi fresh my dude

 

They make stuff specially for that. Should be available at an automotive store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q3lFsZuOnY

It's basically under the passenger side windshield wiper below the hood.

 

Toyota sells an AC refresh/cleaning kit. First you spray foam in the ac drip tube (1/2 can each time) then you spray their fresh air cleaner around the cowling with the air on high. Works really good

 

Hey that sounds pretty cool, do I have to get it from Toyota? Or can I order it from anybody?

Do you know if there's a write up for the process?
While it does sound easy it does make me nervous to be spraying stuff around

 

We started offering an ac evap cleaner service at Goodyear. I did it on my truck and it made my truck smell really good. Like a strong minty smell.

 

I bought a can of stuff at Wal Mart last week that was a small air freshener in a can like a bug bomb. You put the A/C on full, recirculate and set it off. Let it circulate for a while and it's supposed to clear up the stink.

It kind of smelled like Fabreez. I did it this past weekend but I don't drive my truck during the week.

My wife drove it today and said it still stinks but not as bad.

I was wondering the same thing about Lysol or something like it.

 

Autozone or equivalent will have it. Just follow the directions and it works like a champ.

 

After you clean everything, it's a good idea to run the fan at full speed with the A/C off for a few minutes before parking, each time you drive your truck. It will dry off the evaporator and prevent mold from growing.

https://youtu.be/eRy23TFpM4I

 

If you want the part # I can dig it up, you might be able to find it on somewhere like Amazon. I like it because it’s a two step process and is pretty simple to follow the directions. I’ve used this kit threee different times so here are my tips.

First off for the big can. Either turn your wheels one way to give the most access or remove your passenger front wheel. Remove the splash guard closest to the cabin. With that removed if you look in along the fire wall you will find the ac drip line. This is where you will shove the provided tube into to spray the foam.

When spraying the foam, wear gloves. Seriously, I almost never wear gloves but when I got this crap on myself I regretted it. I also figured out a way to prevent a lot of spilling. But first, when you are spraying the foam, really spray slowly. Dont depress the trigger all the way. I have found the slower you get it to spray the more effective it is. Also shake the can often while spraying but make sure you do not pull out your tube that is stuffed in the drip line.

The instructions say to spray half the foam wait i think 5 minutes then let it drain out. If you pull the tube out of the drip line the stuff will go everywhere. Instead, remove the sprayer/tube from the can completely and set it in your drain pan. It will come out slower but you will be so glad to not make a huge mess. Repeat again for the rest of the first can.

Follow the rest of the steps on the can. Also on one of the cans it says to disable the AC compressor. I did not do this and did not have a problem, if you really want to you can pull the AC fuse in the engine bay.

For spraying the second can you can spray it in the openings of the cowling while the hvac fan is on max (make sure it’s not on recirculate) or you could remove the cowl and spray straight into the blower fan. I do not think taking the cowl off is needed. I’ve done it once and it was a bit over kill I think.


Toyota part #

$44 00289ACRKT TOYOTA AC Refresher KIT

00289ACRKT

 

Bought to clean my air duct vent in my truck. Thanks for the video

 

Don’t forget to change your cabin air filter when cleaning the A/C vents.

 

My truck smelled awful. Removed cabin filter and used the lysoL method. It 100% cured the moldy/mildew smell and the lysoL smell only lasted about a day.

 

Let us know how it turns out.

 

Leave an open box of dryer sheets in your truck under a seat. My truck always smells like clean laundry!

 

late to the game on this, but this is exactly what they do at my local dealership. haven't had the problem with my taco, but my wife's highlander started to stink really bad and when i took it in for service, all they did was crank the a/c and spray lysol for a good minute. only problem was... it only worked for a good minute. stunk just as bad the next day.

 

Wow that's awesome. I'm going to try to do it this weekend. Thanks my man.

Ah good idea! Better order one.

Oh my Lord that sounds amazing.

 

Got this a few months back, easy to use and worked great. Came really fast. Local dealership also sells them for ~$25 but Amazon was more convenient. There are a few youtube videos that walk you through use.

$37 GENUINE TOYOTA APPROVED S.E.T. SERVICERITE AC EVAPORATOR REFRESH KIT 00053-00008

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D3B5JTZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

leave windows open at campground, nice smokey scent after
do the rear seat stain mod and don't clean for fresh ocean breeze scent
leave pool shock in cab when too hot out and have a nice bleach scent

replace cabin filter and add some frebreeze to it and enjoy the nice scent

lava rocks under my seat help keep the grand daddy purple scent in check