My car was soda media blasted I think ( its the white stuff that looks like baking soda) before I got it and went on with the restore. There was powder everywhere. I cleaned all the visible residues before restoration and paint.

For the first time, I completed the installation of the heating system last month. As I had the heat on with the fan blowing, I noticed the soda smell coming out of the vents.

Can the smell do any harm?
What is the best way to clean the heat tunnel?

I don't think there is much in there, I uses a vac to blow and suck the dust before installation. Can I just detach the hose coming from the firewall / long to the flappers. Them disconnect the hose behind the speakers and water hose it ? What would you suggest?
All opinions welcome.

Nah.
If anything its keeping the car from smelling like other nasty things. ;-)

You can brush your teeth and wash your clothes with baking soda. Its not going to hurt you.

Zach

Thanks ,
I was just a bit concern, especially driving with my kids in the car.

I just read the PO's thread and it was media blasted, not soda.

Should be OK Paul. "media" is a generic term. The most common dry media are; soda, walnut shells, sand, glass bead. Definitely could be soda you smell.

Hmm. "Media" is just a generic catch-all term that includes soda (sodium bicarbonate) as well as silica (sand), glass beads, water, dry ice, even crushed up nut shells, you name it.

I don't know why somehow the term has been applied by some paint blasting guys to mean something specific, but "media" is truly a generic term. I'd ask them what media they used, exactly. I'm betting it was soda or glass beads.

Media always leaves residue when used as the media reduces to light powder as it cleans the parts being blasted. All forms of Media are rated as to how Agressive they are and this just means the hardness of the media being used. The light soda is the softest and does the least damage to surfaces and sand is the hardest. You must match the media to the material being removed. This is always looked apon as softer is better but takes longer and will leave a different finish. Air pressure also have different effects on the outcome of the finish.
I have used about everything you can think of to blast parts , cars , playground equipment and military vehicles. The key is to blow out the used media after use with large amounts of air several times. We have even flipped cars upside down to remove some forms of media. Find someone who has a large air compressure and an open unrestricted hose and blow out your system. Always wear a mask or even a hood when doing this as any media in the lungs is a bad thing.

Paul,

You have been given some very good and correct information here. If you have true concerns, ask the blaster for the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for the media he used. Or for the brand name and you can find the MSDS on line. This is the only definitive way to determine any potential risks associated with the media. I know that some blasters may mix media depending on the job. I have seen ground glass mixed with soda used at times. But this is usually the exception rather than being a common practice.

I work in the environmental field and deal with these types of issues everyday. If you need additional help feel free to contact me.

Also remember, the "media" was used to remove old paint and rust, so that's in there too.
The good Lord only gave you two lungs so better safe than sorry.

I will try to contact the PO to get more info, for now, I will disconnect the heat.
I am not optimistic,It has been a few years.

Thank you all for all the great info and education.

Besides the vacuum, I would attach positive pressure to the vents, remove the hose to the heat exchanger and blow them out. An electric leaf blower would do the trick.

Mark ,
Thanks , I don't see any particles coming out of the blower, it's just the smell. It is not strong but noticeable. Then again it may be the normal smell for the heat exchangers. I check and it was not carbon monoxide.

This may not make you sleep well but in the course of business I was told no paint manufacturer will warrant a soda blast surface due to adhesion issue...suspect good cleaning could help but just passing that along. Anyone heard that

Mark ,
Thanks , I don't see any particles coming out of the blower, it's just the smell. It is not strong but noticeable. Then again it may be the normal smell for the heat exchangers. I check and it was not carbon monoxide.

If you can't get any information from the blaster some things may help you figure out what it is. So what is below is for informational purposes only. While these are simple actions, you should only evalute them further if you receive additional guidance as to the potential risks and you feel that you have a complete understanding of the process and the risks involved. While the risks are likely low, there is no way that any reasonable person could anticipate any and all potential risks associated with the what is presented below.

So after all of that, If some of the media from the car happened to be in two glass jars.

One might slowly add water to one of the jars until there was have about 10 times as much water as media then stir. If the media completely dissolves then it is likely soda. If some dissolves and some does not the you likely have a mix of media. Some of the material removed from the car mayfloat or sink. But the removed material will be irregularly sized and should resemble dirt. Any other Material at the bottom of the glass that has a more uniform size may be a media other than soda.

In a well ventilated area one could take 1 drop of vinegar and place it on the media in the second jar. If it is soda media it will fizz. But just as was stated previously, the media may contain numerous other contaminants so don't inhale the fumes.

If vinegar is added until all fizzing stops, only small particles of the paint and dirt that was removed from the car should be viewable. If there are a lot of uniform particles remaining then another media other than soda may be involved.

Of course the only way to be completely sure of what the media is composed of is to have it tested by a certified lab.

Thanks Mike,
that's very good info, however there are no visible or tangible deposits left that I can see.

I would just blow things out for good measure and thank god yours smells like soda. I had a dead rat in the passengers floorboard this year. I just threw the floor mats away and used carpet cleaner several times. Now it smells like it did when we started.

I used washing soda once because I had some laying around and that was a very bad idea. I felt like shit for a few days and my skin too. I even felt fluid sloshing around in my lung. so dont use washing soda people !