Being a car owner is a big responsibility. One of the things you have to make sure that is always kept nice and clean is your car air filter.
Without clean air, your car will experience problems that can cost you a lot of money. Maintaining your air filter and taking care of your car regularly will save you money and energy in the long run.
Continue reading this article to learn about how to clean your car’s air filter.
Cleaning Your Car Air Filter
Before you try to use an air filter cleaner, you need to know what kind of air filter your car has. There are dry air filters and oiled air filters.
If your car has an oiled air filter, you have the extra step of reoiling the air filter after you clean it. Once you figure out which type of air filter your car has, it is time to start cleaning.
Those of you that have modified the engine should keep in mind that your cleaning process may be different.
1. Open Your Hood
Open the hood and look at the top of the engine. You’ll be able to see your air filter housing there.
Remove the air filter from the housing. The housing will surround your air filter and housing will be a different shape depending on the type of air filter your car has.
2. Determine the Type of Filter & Clean
Now you need to see if your air filter is a dry or an oiled air filter. If you have a dry filter, use a vacuum to suck up the dirt and dust off your air filter. If you have an oiled filter, use a cleaner from a kit to clean the oil and debris off the air filter.
Oiled filters need to soak for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, rinse the cleaner off the air filter. Shake any extra water off the filter and let it air dry.
This is the point where you would reapply oil to the oiled filter.
3. Drying
Whether you have a dry filter or an oiled filter, you need to let them both naturally dry. Keep them out of your car until they are fully dry. The oil filter will look different dry than the dry air filter.
4. Return Your Air Filter
Now you need to return the air filter to the car. Open the hood of the car and put the air filter back in the housing.
Once you return your air filter, your car will be ready to go.
Regular Maintenance
Make sure to keep up regular maintenance and clean your air filter as needed. Some areas have more debris and dust than others and you’ll need to clean your filter more often than others.
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