Cleaning the air ducts 06 Tundra

Hello everyone. New here. I just bought a 2006 Tundra Limited. It’s in incredible shape. An older gentleman owned it and took excellent care of it. Long story short, I’ve come to realize I have an allergy to, what I think, is Fabreze...or the scent in it? Regardless, this truck seems to have been treated with it. Each time I drive it I get worse...swollen eyes and lips, lungs feel tight etc. I didn’t notice it on the test drive sadly. I’ve extracted the carpet, put down baking soda, wiped down the leather seats, dash etc. That helped a lot, but still have some issues. My main concern is that when I use the fan, it’s a lot worse. Can I clean the ventilation system? Do I need to take it apart? I don’t want to mask the scent as it’s an allergic reaction, not a dislike of a smell. There is no in-cabin filter in the 2006 Tundra. Sorry to be long-winded. Any help is appreciated.

 

Ozone generator. Run it as long as it takes to remove odors, can run truck fan on recirculate while running the generator. I would try that before disassembling the dash and interior to try and clean in the HVAC vents.

 

^^^ This is a great idea. Before doing that I would also give the vents a good disinfectant blast like in the vid I have posted below. The only thing I would do differently though is to leave the windows open while cleaning. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynY5HKMMBuo

 

Any evidence of mice in the truck? Read the thread below.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/my-tundra-and-the-rats-that-almost-killed-me.102095/

 

Thanks for the advise so far.

 

I have been smelling a dusty scent in mine. Thinking about cleaning the evaporator and seeing if that helps. Will also pull the blower to clean the fan.
Here's were Heather shows us how.. https://www.tundras.com/threads/the...ld’-a-chronological-story.46816/#post-1210454

 

Guys, I had a "old people smell" when I bought my XSP a few years ago.
Passenger side lower dash. Pull out the blower fan.
Make DAMN sure your condenser drain is
Working.
Get some condenser foaming spray from a home improvement store. With the blower remover, good visual to the evaporator.
Suds that sucker down. Flush with garden hose.
All junk flows out the condenser drain.
While fan is out scrub up the rotor.
Add a drop of oil to your fan, reassemble.
Enjoy clean fresh air

 

“old people smell”….I resemble that remark

 

Well guys, gonna start dealing with it tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for all the help!

 

I wonder if an auto detailer has a way to de-smell the air ducts and vents? Might be worth an inquiry.

 

Good luck. The 2006 Toyota Factory Service Manual can be downloaded in the link below if you run into any problems

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-...WjA/view?resourcekey=0-lv7xW9_5TKqpbWKbBzVP0Q

 

2000-2003 Tundra FSM PDF

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8...RXM/view?resourcekey=0-3Zt2kJPr_abtGh_1BJmADg

 

Caveat Emptor! The prior owner of my truck used some sort of perfumey smelly shit to clean the vents, causing me teary eyes and migraine headaches every time I turned on the heat (yes, I'm chemically sensitive). It smelled worse than a NYC Taxi with one of those crown air fresheners! It's been two years now and it's still noticeable.

 

Ok guys, time for an update. Turns out it’s in the cleaner they used to detail the truck. I cleaned the vents...which I will update regarding, and although they smell fine (no smell) I’ve since removed the seats, cleaned the headliner and power washed the carpet. We’ll see tomorrow if it’s dry abs if the smell dissipates. I’ve used an ozone generator, tuff stuff on the headliner, and baking soda dissolved in water to wash things. The baking soda is the only help so far. However, it seems it’s “in” the seats (leather skins). Not sure what do do about that.

For the air vents, I used a product off Amazon called CleanSmart Disinfectant
and followed the directions in the above video by spraying it down the fresh air inlet. It’s all natural and no scent, but kills bacteria as much as Lysol. Pretty happy with the results of that part!