The Best Ways to Clean Car Vents During Your Auto Detailing Career

auto-detailing-course

When it comes to cleaning the inside of a car, drivers will get the seats, the arm rests, and even those nasty dirt covered mats, but what they tend to miss are the little things. Air vents aren’t particularly difficult to clean, but you’d be surprised how bad drivers will let them get, and how that kind of neglect can lead to a build up of dust and grime. In some cases, it may even lead to the growth of mold. Inhaling these harmful pollutants can be troublesome for drivers or passengers with allergies and asthma, so when those vents get dirty it’s wise to get them cleaned.

Are you interested in auto detailing and want all the best tips on how to clean out air vents? Read on!

Use Foam Paint and Specialized Brushes to Get Deep Into Those Vents

The last thing you want to do as an auto detailer is use a brush with rough bristles to clean out a vent. You could end up scratching or cracking the vent slats, or possibly damage other components inside the vent. Some more specialized cleaning brushes, like those made from microfiber, are made specifically for cleaning vents, and can fit in between the narrow slats where most of the dirt and dust are gathered.

 

auto-detailing-career
Brushes with softer bristles are a great tool!

You can also purchase a foam paint brush instead. Foam paint brushes can cost only a few dollars, and can squeeze in between vent slats to get at dirt almost as effectively as professional vent brush products. For more tough-to-reach places, try using a q-tip instead of rougher alternatives like a toothbrush during your auto detailing career. In all cases, be sure to use your preferred cleaning product and disinfectant spray to get off some of the tougher dirt and grease; you can also use soap and water too!

Use a Steam Cleaner for Tougher Vent Cleaning Jobs During Your Auto Detailing Career

Sometimes cleaning products and brushes just won’t be enough to get off dirt that has begun to stick to the vent slats, particularly on vehicles whose vents have been badly neglected. For tough jobs like these, it might be best to use a professional car steamer. What’s great about steamers for professional automotive detailing is that while they can clean out tough stuck-on dirt and body oil, they’re also able to disinfect surfaces, making potentially harmful chemical disinfectant sprays unnecessary.

Start by slowly passing the nozzle of the steamer over each individual vent slat and you’ll already begin to notice just how much dirt has actually been removed. After you’ve finished steaming down the vents, you should wipe them down to dry them. Don’t be alarmed if any water gets behind the vents, just turn on the fan at full blast to dry them out!

Use Scented Cleaning Solution for Nasty Mold Odor

Mold stinks, but getting that scent out of a car can be pretty easy. For this, you can use a store cleaning solution with a scent, like cherry or orange, to clean vents with. Just spray it over the vents and wipe away any excess with a microfiber towel.

It’s important to remember that this will only “cover up” the smell of mold and won’t get rid of the problem. The mold smell might be coming from the air conditioning system or air filter, which might need to be removed and cleaned.

These are only a few of the great vent detailing strategies you could learn while enrolled at auto school. There are plenty of other excellent techniques to pick up!

Are you ready to start your career as a professional automotive detailer?

Register for an auto detailing course at Automotive Training Centers in Montreal!

Form is submitting