Cleaning A/C Ducts

[da_raabi]

After discovering that my A/C compressor blew up (from an overcharge - thanks Pep Boys) I decided to pull out all of the HVAC ducting for a good cleaning while I waited on a new compressor to arrive. I tried a couple of different cleaning methods and here are the results:

1. DO NOT - I REPEAT: DO NOT USE A DISHWASHER. It removed all of the chrome quite nicely from my dash vents...

2. Use a shower to wash off the dirt - then 409 for the final cleaning:

First, a few reference pics of the entire system out of the truck:

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You can see in those the foam tape I used to help seal things up a bit.

On to the cleaning...
BEFORE:

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Groaty huh?

CLEANING:

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Use the "massager" setting if you have one:

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Formula 409 for final cleaning:

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Don't forget to dry it off first

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AFTER
Nice and clean! The pics dont show it well though...

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A few notes:

--Do not forget to clean the crevices inside - there was nasty black dirt EVERYWHERE.

--Some of the ducting will split apart by prying on small tabs - this will make cleaning much much easier. I chose not to do that on this piece as it was so small

- DO NOT USE THE DISHWASHER

- Remember to get some new foam tape to seal everything up - and look for holes to plug throughout. GM did not do a good job of sealing this system so look for any way you can improve the pressure - you will thank yourself.

Good luck!

 

[J Knight]

Why cant you use the dishwasher?

 

[da_raabi]

Why cant you use the dishwasher?

I said it up at the top. Even on a cold wash/no plate warmer drying it removed the chrome quite efficiently from all of the vents. It actually made them look pretty friggin crappy. Honestly it was also much easier to do it with the shower head, mainly because in both cases all of the parts needed to be cleaned with 409 anyway. The dishwasher just did not do a very good job.

 

[mtnmankev]

Thanks for the tip, I will give mine a good bath as soon as I can afford to order the parts to get my a/c working again.
You can, however, wash your chainsaw in the dishwasher.
Just hope the lady of the house doesn't find out.