Amy’s Garage

When you bring your car into the shop for service and you are told the Cabin Air Filter needs to be replaced, they are not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. This once a year / 12,000 to 15,000 service will save you a ton of money in the long run, help keep good air quality in your car, and maybe prevent you from dying of Hantavirus.

OK, this is an extremely dirty cabin air filter. It was also the home of mice. This is where the dying part comes to play, because mice dropping, urine or saliva can cause a deadly respiratory illness called Hantavirus.

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I knew someone who’s husband cleaned out their shed (with lots of mice droppings) and developed flu-like symptoms that were so severe that he ended up in the hospital. His breathing progressively got worse while the doctors scratched their heads and wondered why. (This would have been right up Dr. House’s sleeve). Lucky for this guy, one of the Doctors had encountered Hantavirus and had him tested and treated before he died.

Don’t freak out, it’s unlikely you will contract Hantavirus from a dirty cabin air filter. The filters are very well designed. Here is the backside of the same extremely dirty air filter. You can see that it was doing it’s job of keeping all that “stuff” out of the ventilation system.

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But, if the mouse had chewed a hole in the filter… and this does happen, some of the “stuff” would have entered the ventilation system and could create havoc with the blower motor, heater core and the air doors in the vent.

In English, this means it could burn out a bearing in the blower motor (expensive to replace), and/ or plug up and restrict the air flow when you use your heater, defroster or A/C. This would be a nightmare job. It would require a technician to take apart the dash of the car to remove the “stuff” blocking the air.

When they build a vehicle, the heater box is one of the first parts installed in the dash. So, to clean out the debris, they have to work backwards and take everything out of the dash to get to the heater box. This could easily turn into 12 to 15 hours of labor.

This job is very expensive because it is not be a labor of love. The technician spends a great deal of time laying down on the floor to take out various parts and will have to spend a great deal of time laying down on the floor to put it back together.

Preventive maintenance is the best way to avoid a extremely dirty cabin air filter!

Does your vehicle have a cabin air filter? Best way to find out is to look in your owner’s manual under “air filter”.

Is it easy to change so you could do it yourself? This will all depend on where it is located and how hard it is to get at.

Having a sunroof in your car is a beautiful thing… except when you forget to close it and it rains inside your car.

Once a summer I rush out of the house, jump into my drowned car and get soaked across my back and bottom. UG! I hate that!

Not only is it a horrible way to start the day, if you don’t get the car dried out properly you can start a mold factory and make you and your family sick.

If your car has had a overnight soaking and you act fast, it will save you a ton of trouble in the long run. If you procrastinate you will have BIG trouble and may have to take out the seats and rip up the carpet.

Quick Action

1. If it is still raining, get the car under cover ASAP!
2. If it is sunny, park it in the sun!
3. Don’t close the windows or you will create a mold factory.
4. Take out all the wet floor mats and hang in the sun to thoroughly dry.
5. Use lots of towels to soak up as much of the water as possible from the seats and floor.
6. If you can get your hands on a wet/dry shop vacuum cleaner, suck up as much of the water as possible.
7. Get a dehumidifier and put it in the car for the rest of the day.
8. Sprinkle baking soda over the floor and seats of where it got wet. Work it into the fabrics with your hands and let sit overnight. Vacuum in the morning.

I know this sounds like a hassle, but hey, your the one who left the sunroof open in the rain! Seriously, if you take the time to follow these few simple steps you will save yourself a moldy headache in the future.

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The temperatures have finally risen past 45 degrees and the rains are melting the last bits of snow. Yes, we still have snow up in the mountains of Vermont

It’s a great time to open the windows, doors and trunk of your car to let in some fresh air and do some spring cleaning. Clear out all the accumulated winter debris from the floor, in between the seats, tucked in the ashtray and in the way back of station-wagons and SUVs and in the trunks of cars. It always amazes me the nooks and crannies my daughter finds to put her empty candy wrappers in.

Once you have cleared the decks of all the trash and extra “stuff” you found in your vehicle, pull out the floor mats and set them aside. Before you vacuum the interior carpets, take a stiff brush and sweep the floor to loosen the dirt and debris that buried in and stuck to the carpet. If you are diligent about getting out all the dirt, alternate between the vacuum and stiff brush and you will be able to get out all those little stones that hide in the nap of the carpets.

Use the long neck attachment of the vacuum to reach under the seats, between the cushions and around the pedals. Use the soft brush attachment to vacuum the dashboard and doors. 13 Going on 30 trailer Be gentle on any knobs, vents and stereo parts. Be especially careful if you have leather seats. They can be easily scratched by using the the wrong attachment.

Once the whole inside of the vehicle has been vacuumed, it’s time to tackle the floor mats

. Start our by shaking as much of the loose dirt, dust and salt out of the mat as possible. Then use the vacuum on your floor mats. If you really want to get the floor mats clean you can lather them up with carpet cleaner, work it in with a brush and power rinse them with your garden hose. BUT, make sure they are totally dry before your put them back into the car. You may want to hang them in the sun for a day or two.

Alien Agent movies I like to wash the windows next. Use any alcohol-based glass cleaner. Use a paper towel to wash the window and if you used a newspaper to dry the window you will get a crystal clear window every time!

Clean the dashboard, console, door handles, etc. with a slightly damp cloth. Always use lint-free material when cleaning the dash. You can use a very small amount of laundry detergent to remove any stains on the dash, console, door handles, etc. Rinse well and then dry with a clean, soft lint-free cloth. If you want dash to shine, apply a very small amount of furniture polish to a clean cloth and polish. Do Not spray the furniture polish directly on the dash. It can splash on your clean windows and will be difficult to remove.

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To clean out those hard-to-reach cracks and crevices like vents and buttons, use a cotton swab or mini paintbrush

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and follow the directions in the paragraph above. You know your car is really clean with the vents are sparkling.

Do you have any other cleaning tips for the interior? Please share!