When air circulates through your car and its heating vents, it brings odors with it. Whether the odors come from your engine, something stuck in your vent or an unknown object, experiencing the smell in your vehicle is unpleasant. Cleaning out the vents and turning the odor from unpleasant to pleasant is easy to do and will make being in your vehicle more enjoyable.
Mix a solution of warm water and detergent in a bucket. You can use dish detergent or a small amount of laundry detergent to clean your vents. Choose one with a smell that is appealing to you.
Pry the vent covers off of the car using the flat-head screwdriver. Carefully insert the tip of the screwdriver in between the seam of the vent and the dashboard. Using leverage, push the screwdriver into the seam and pry the vent cover off. It should simply pop-off with the right pressure.
Drop each vent cover into the soapy water bucket to let it soak while you clean out the vent. Wet a soft cloth in the bucket and wring out any excess water. Wipe the inside of each vent generously with the wet cloth. Scrub off anything sticky or stuck to the plastic. Clean inside of the vents as far as you can get your hand. Be sure to wipe the top of the vents as well.
Dry the vents out using the second soft cloth. Wipe inside of the vents, inspecting for anything you've missed.
Retrieve the vent covers from the soapy bucket. Wet the toothbrush in the bucket and use it to clean in between the slits in the covers. Be sure to remove any grime in the corners of the vent covers.
Dry the vent covers with the dry soft cloth. Allow them to finish air drying if you cannot get in between the slots.
Snap the vent covers back into place. Line up the outside of the vent with the seams on the dash and push it into place until you hear it snap.
Spray out any hard-to-reach vents using the can of compressed air. The defrosting vents by the windshield are especially hard to reach and remove.
Use the wet, soapy cloth to wipe the top of the vent covers that are hard to reach. Dry the top of the vent cover using the dry cloth. Allow the vents to finish air drying.
Hang an air freshener in your car or on your vents. There are air fresheners available that cling to your vents and circulate the fresh smell when the vents are turned on. This may be ideal to fully rid of any lasting odors.
