Team-BHP - Cleaning the Dusthouse

Raccoon,
Can you pls share the details of the Distributor of Gulf foam?
I too am in need of the same. I stay at Kunal Icon in Pimple Saudagar.
Request you to pls mail me the contact no. of the rep.

Thank you in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon (Post 1431240)

Got a can delivered at home by the Gulf distributor, few days ago. After trying it out in my Esteem, I discovered -

1) The foam never reached to the vents where... the can got over before that happened!! Could it be that the distributor gave me a partly used can? There was no seal on the can, so I can't know if it was used.

2) I saw a swarm of ants near the A/C inlet duct, (after a day or two) which is below the grill under the front windscreen! :Shockked: It seems the sweet kinda smell of this stuff attracts ants... beware guys! I sprayed a very small amount of Mortein there, and the ants vanished. Haven't see the ants there after that. As you use the A/c the smell seems to diminish... so it seems it dosen't attract them anymore. Never saw any ants from the inside of the cabin though.

3) The can sold to me was Manufactured in 2006 and made in Italy. It did not have any expiry date. I was told that there is no newer stock... so I decided to try it out anyway.

Anybody had similar observations?

Thats interesting. Could it be that like everything else in this holy land, even A/c gas is also adulterated? Anyways, any idea where you can buy genuine DuPont gas? The gas used in my car was also from a small unnamed cylinder.

^^^ Have PMed you some numbers, as I don't think its appropriate to post pvt. cell numbers publicly here.

While they home delivered Gulf oil, they did not send me the A/c cleaner last time. I followed up couple of times and then gave up. That was good and saved me money actually, as I got the AC system manually cleaned after that. :)

If you dont get the stuff from the above people, you could call Gulf head office in Bombay. Don't have the number with me right now, but can get it from one of the cans when I'm home. Let me know.

Reviving a sleeping thread!
Seems like my AC vents need some serious cleaning after being abused by Bangalore dust for last 2 years. Tried to find the neutralizer in all shops around Koramangala, but no luck. I keep hearing stories like "company is closed","dealer is changed" etc etc.
Any pointers to where I can get it for sure?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ohh!Oxygen (Post 2276038)

Do you generally keep it on fresh air mode?

I have been using my car on the dirtiest stretch in Bangalore (Silk Board to ITPL) and thankfully no dust from the a/c vents. Although I'd like to have them cleaned up!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jigbarai (Post 2290270)

@rock18 - can you throw in some more details around what they did as part of this treatment ? did you observe the entire process ? it would help if you could list it down stepwise.

and not to miss - what was the outcome of this treatment ? how does it benefit ?

I am sorry.i did not observe the process.They said it will recycle the AC for nearly a week and all the dust will be drained out along with the liquid.
I did not feel any difference as i never had any odor before.I just did this as a preventive maintenance since i have a 1 year old baby on board.

After weeks of searching for the Gulf AC neutralizer, I finally gave up, bit the bullet and got the cleaning done by the Sparkle Car spa guys in Mantri mall. They charged me Rs. 447 and did not do anything beyond spraying the foam in the vents and running the blower at full speed after 15 min. I must say that I was less than impressed.
Of course, this did solve the problem, but its not something you cannot do at home yourself. Unfortunately, the Gulf neutralizer does not seem to be available anymore and the few remaining cans are of '06 vintage. Is there an alternative?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jigbarai (Post 2290270)

can you throw in some more details around what they did as part of this treatment ? did you observe the entire process ? it would help if you could list it down stepwise.

I think the procedure described in the initial post is incorrect. The tube needs to be inserted from water-drain-outlet which is located outside, under the hood.

The picture below is borrowed from the www.subaruforester.org

How To: Clean your A/C system (Get rid of the musty air smell) - Subaru Forester Owners Forum

The procedure in the link above makes a lot more sense because the evaporator core is closest to the water drain outlet rather than the vents inside. Also the residue gets flushed with water as compared to getting blowed on your face

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sankar (Post 2290539)

Hi, do you guys clean the pollen/dust filter while cleaning the vents?

As per the above link the filter needs to be replaced.
The question is how to reach that filter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy.S (Post 2363055)

They charged me Rs. 447 and did not do anything beyond spraying the foam in the vents and running the blower at full speed after 15 min. I must say that I was less than impressed.

Does the instructions on the product tell you specifically to spray the foam through the vents?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chewbacca (Post 2363125)

............
Does the instructions on the product tell you specifically to spray the foam through the vents?

I think it needs to be sprayed into the vents and through the recirc flap. In any case, its made a significant difference but there is a very strong lemony smell that just refuses to go. I'm pretty sure this is not the Gulf neutralizer.
If I wanted a complete AC cleaning job done, where in Bangalore would I find a guy to do it? Also, does the Swift have any sort of filter? An AC mechanic once spoke of the 'hair filter' but I do not think my car has any air or hair filtering element in the AC system. Is it possible to retro-fit it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy.S (Post 2364435)

AFAIK,all modern cars come with a Cabin(A/C) Air filter element.It will be easily accessible.Most probably it will be in the passenger footwell area.Check out with the MASS regarding the location of the filter or you could check out your User manual too.In my i20,the filter removal is a 2 min job.Its very conveniently located in the passenger footwell.The amount of dust and pollen the filter had held when i last opened it was enormous.That too after cleaning the filter element every month.So i recommend you get the filter element cleaned or changed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy.S (Post 2363055)

I have often seen advertisements and complete demo usage videos of Gulf AC Neutralizer on TV. Gulf has their corporate office in Bangalore too.

Alternatively, you can try eliminating foul air and moisture from your car by using an Ioniser (Negative Ion Generator) and moisture removal products like Damp Trap & Absorbia (Local) and Damp Rid (Imported).

I use an Ioniser which fits into the car charger socket and Damp Trap. Works well to keep foul smell and moisture away from my car.