askikr1

Hello all, I have been a member for a while and this is always the first place I go for issues with my RX300. I have always searched threads on ClubLexus and found answers to my issue but I bet you havent heard this one.

My wife goes to buy cat food, and just buys a small bag, puts it on the dash board of her 01 RX and the bag has a tear in it, as she picks it up it tears more and about a pound of dry cat food spills on the dash. My wife (being blonde) sweeps it into the vent and it winds up covering the interior cabin filter. No big deal right? Ha, I go in to replace the interior cabin filter and there is so much cat food on it when I pull it out some food falls into the blower. Again no big deal, however, i can't get my hand or a vacuum hose into the hole where the cabin filter is to pull it out. Now, everytime i turn on the AC or the heat it smells like a fish factory, of course it had to be fish flavored. I am at the point we can't use either, i need to pull the blower out and clean it all out. What is the best way to to get to the motor so i can clean it. I took it too one of our local shops and he said he needed the car for two days. I wasnt falling for that deal. Can anybody recommend anything???? If you could post picks on how to remove it, i would be in debt to you versus that local garage. Thanks again fellas, this is by far one of the best forums i have used.

Thanks again, Anthony

salimshah

Buy the activated charcoal filter [oem is that type].

Unfortunately, you have to open and clean everything out [not recommended] or keep changing the filters till the odor is all gone.

Other things that can help:
You try odor-rid in the air circulation path.
Run heater at hot setting for extended period of time.
Mask the odor with other odor that you like [not recommended]
Run A/C in high humidity environment and let the condensate drain the odor (yeah!) out.

Salim

hypervish

Like salimshah said get a charcoal activated filter.

Try something that cleans mold in the vents, they usually are really strong and will probably kill the odor.

trhs75

I am so sorry! I have to say I got a kick out of your story, though! I hope it goes well getting the smell out -- good luck! Hopefully your wife feels guilty. You're right -- this forum is great!

salimshah

Try, "Nature's Air Sponge" odor absorber 1-800 926-1633. [needs to be kept out of reach of children].

Salim
ps: No affiliation with the manufacturer .. just a satisfied customer.

askikr1

Thanks Guys, after work today I am off to find some decontamination spray and a charcoal activated filter. I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully my Lexi stops smelling like a fish processing plant.

C-Stone

askikr1: First, I get a kick out of your sense of humor about it all. This is good. One would go nuts in life without finding the incredible humor in most things.

This reminds me of something that happened about 5 years ago. I was in the basement of our house (includes a laundry room, storage, and the HVAC system) and noticed a putrid smell. It seemed to get worse by the day... so one day I put sought the source of the putrid smell out and determined it was somehow in the HVAC power vent blower which exhausts the burned gases to the outdoors. I began taking it all apart and found that a chipmunk had crawled into the exhaust exit, made his way in the PVC, then fell down into the the exhaust blower of the HVAC system. He was resting there in peace. ... well, actually in many pieces... with maggots and all.

Oh the joys of the American dream... owning a home. lol. Well, I thought I'd save a buck and just try to take the entire blower assembly apart and clean it. It was the most repulsive project I've ever taken on. Once I got it cleaned, wiped down, sprayed with smell killer, and all back together... I determined it still had enough residual odor that I should just go buy a new one and put it in. Which is what I did. This did the job.

I hope you are able to kill the smell with the suggested remedies. But if not, you may end up having to take apart a lot to get every last piece of cat food granule in the system.

Good luck with it!

... and be sure your beloved isn't cooking fish for dinner the day you work on it.

Australian

We sell a product at my work which smells like disinfectant comes in paste form and is designed to eat up wastes and odors in Air conditioners. I am sure you could buy a similar product for your odors.

askikr1

Australian, any idea what that product is called????? I tried a strong odor spray and it took some of the funk out, i also used a activated carbon filter but it still has a smell, not as bad but still a funk. We now call our beloved Lexus, "the funkmobile".

Thanks for the info.

askikr1

C-Stone, I think your story trumps mine. Although, it is pretty embarassing when people get into my wife's Lexus and it smells like there has been a can of Tuna rotting in it for weeks. I have told her that she is required to drive it for two more weeks like that as punishment and to teach her never to sweep anything into the vents. Well i am off to the store (not in the funkmobile) again to find a vaccum with a small hose or alot of those air freshener trees. Best Regads.....

C-Stone

askikr1, the RX smell issue sounds rough, still. Best of luck with the "punishment" lesson. Seems like when I've tried something like that (married, nearly 29 years), somehow I end up in the doghouse.

Hopefully, you can get to it soon... and get it over with. It may be one of those half day + jobs. Put on some good music and work away. At least the temperatures are nicer for a day in the garage.

Let us know how it goes.

is350memb

i said no one taking the car apart to take the cat food out. if you could hook up a shop vaccum to a smaller hose or make the connection yourself and try to vaccum it out. I know we can place air freshener but it wont help much.