Excessive dust from vents

On my '96 Tacoma I seem to have a lot of dust coming out of the heat/air vents. E.g., if I wipe off the area above the dashboard, it is thick with dust. A lot more than my other vehicles. I live in Colorado. It is very dry here, but not that dusty.

Is there a filter or something that I can change, or do I just need to wipe more often??

 

pull out the blower motor and clean the blower wheel, its likely covered in dust and throws it out everytime its used. also once its out use a leaf blower in the vents to blow out any remaining dust.

I suspect the last owner often left the windows down in dusty areas with the windows open and the fan sucked all manner of dust into the vents.

the only "cure" I know of is to pull the vents out of the dash and wash them and slide some form of tool in them to be able to pass rags through it to wipe it all out. that would be a PITA but it would then stay clean all the time like you would prefer it to. maybe put in on the to do list one day.

 

So I remove the blower motor and clean it, and then blast (through the blower motor input) with a leaf blower? Dang, that sounds like a fun experiment. But will I be blasting a bunch of dust/crap into the car? I guess that would be a one-time clean-up...

 

well its 6 or half dozen, if you want the dust outta the vents its gotta go into the truck.

it can help if you have both doors open with a fan blowing across it but we aren't talking about clouds of dust "I wouldn't think anyway" so cover the seats with old sheets and that should take care of it.

while your in there spray some air freshener in the vents and on the fan wheel (after its completely clean) wouldnt hurt but use something light and airy like fruit scented or vanilla so its not overpowering

 

Stop! You had me at "light and airy like fruit scented or vanilla"

 

When i changed my dash light's to led i took all my vents out, minus the one behind the glove box and washed them in a sink.. that included the ducting too..