Is it possible to live without clean air for us humans? No. Right? Similarly, your car too requires clean air filters to function smoothly. One such air filter essential for a comfortable ride is the cabin air filter (check here). It ensures that no contaminants, pollens, smog, or dust enter your car when you are riding in it. When the amount of dust and dirt entering the car increases, it suffocates the person driving and fills it with a smell.
To ensure that your car keeps running smoothly like a champion, you need to keep all the air filters, including the cabin air filter running well. If you think that it needs replacement, do it immediately. It will ensure that you are not stuck driving a car that smells of rotten eggs. Moreover, a non-working air-filter can let pollen and dirt inside, which increases your chances of catching flu or pollen-related allergies.
Thus, knowing everything about the cabin air filter is essential to change or replace it as soon as possible. In this blog, we will cover everything there is to know about this air filter.
The cabin air filter is such one which is responsible for cleaning the air, and you can find it in various places, like:
- Behind the glove compartment
- Under the hood of the car near the cabin
- Under the passenger side’s dashboard
Table of Contents
Why should you change the air filter of the cabin on time?
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1. To allow fresh air inside the car
It allows fresh and clean breathing air to travel inside the car. It filters pollen, bacteria, dust, and polluting substances to ensure you don’t have to breathe in unpleasant, unhygienic, or air with odor. If you do breathe in dirty air, it can lead to an allergic reaction.
2. To ensure you have safe vision
When you do not unclog your cabin filter on time, it will block the airflow that comes inside the car temporarily. It can impose a problem because it doesn’t allow you to defog the windows or windshield. That will cause visibility problems and can lead to issues with driving. An unclogged air filter can cause condensation leading to a foggy windshield with no visibility, increasing accidents, and you have to work hard to remove the fog from the glass.
3. To ensure that your car’s heating & A/C system’s life increases
When the cabin air filter is working well, it increases the life of the car’s heating and A/C system. If the A/C system doesn’t work accurately, there will be too much suffocation inside the vehicle.
Steps to clean the cabin air filter at home quickly
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If you drive your car often in areas full of dust or sand, replace the cabin air filter frequently. Otherwise, you can wait up to 15,000 miles or a year before you need to change the filters.
Asking a professional for changing the cabin air filter is the right choice. It is affordable as well. Though, you can change it yourself at home too. It is a simple process, and the steps are as follow:
1. Locate the filters
As we mentioned above, there are three places where you can locate the cabin air filter. It also depends on the model and manufacturing year of your car. If it is a model which came after the year 2000, the filter will most probably be in the driver’s foot or behind the glove box. It is easy to locate the filter inside a shelf or bracket, or container.
It will have a wing nut or clamps, which you will have to remove to expose the filter. Try checking the manual of the car or check the website. It will help you figure out the location of the air filter.
2. Try pulling the filter out
Pull the cabin air filter out, and do not worry about any more clamps as there are none. Find a safe place away from kids to place down the filter.
3. Time to clean the cabin air filter
Determine one of the two ways to clean this filter. The first way is to use a vacuum cleaner to take out all the dust from it. Vacuum it for one minute and try the same on the other side. Or you can use soapy water to clean it thoroughly. If you are using soapy water, place the filter in the liquid and soak it fully. Place the filter on a clean towel and let it dry. The whole process will take a few hours, so be patient. Lastly, put the filter back, secure the canister, and you have a cleaned air filter.
To replace the air filter, buy the best and compatible cabin air filter and follow the same extraction process to place the new one.
Do not do this
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When you are cleaning the cabin air filter, make sure you do not do the following:
- Use accessories like brushes to scrub and wash away the dust and dirt. If you use too many accessories, you can damage it easily as this HVAC component is too delicate.
- Never use any detergents or hair dryer to dry the filter or the container
- Do not forget to clean the air vents for a better quality of air.
Benefits you get when changing the cabin air filter regularly
There are tons of benefits you get when you change the cabin air filter:
- It keeps dirt out of the car which ensures that the HVAC system runs well and efficiently. When it is replaced on time, it doesn’t cost you much money in the future.
- It keeps the air fresh, making the ride comfortable. When you change it on time, it will keep the engine running well also.
- If you do not change the cabin air filter, it will clog and clean air will flow inside the car. The dirt will keep accumulating in the car leading to a foul smell and an increase in pollen. Finding cabin air filters at an affordable cost and getting them replaced or replacing it yourself are all easy processes.
Cabin air filters may not be on top of your mind when it comes to keeping your car. But they are vital for the well-being of the air that you breathe inside the vehicle. It ensures that you stay safe and enjoy a ride that doesn’t reek with a dirty smell but of sweet fragrance.
