Passenger cabin air control systems and methods

A vehicle system, comprising:

• a particulate matter sensor configured to measure an amount of particulate within a passenger cabin of a vehicle;
• a volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensor configured to measure an amount of VOCs within the passenger cabin of the vehicle;
• and
• a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system including a blower;
• a blower control module configured to:
• operate the blower in a first direction and blow air into the passenger cabin of the vehicle;
• based on the amount of particulate and the amount of VOCs within the passenger cabin of the vehicle, selectively operate the blower in a second direction that is opposite the first direction, thereby blowing air from within the passenger cabin out through the HVAC system;
• and
• based on the amount of VOCs within the passenger cabin of the vehicle, selectively at least one of increase and decrease a speed of the blower in at least one of the first direction and the second direction including:
• during operation of the blower in the first direction, selectively increase and decrease the speed of the blower in the first direction based on the amount of VOCs;
• and
• during operation of the blower in the second direction, selectively increase and decrease the speed of the blower in the second direction based on the amount of VOCs,
• wherein the blower control module is configured to operate the blower in the second direction in response to a determination that at least one of:
• the amount of particulate within the passenger cabin is greater than a predetermined amount of particulate;
• and
• the amount of VOCs within the passenger cabin is greater than a predetermined amount of VOCs.