Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We bought a used car a few weeks ago, in fantastic condition. For some utterly inexplicable reason, the previous owner drenched the interior with some sort of horrible, nauseating cleaner-deodorizer-whatever crap, and we just cannot get the stench out. So far I've tried baking it out by leaving it in the sun with the windows cracked, and bombarding it with an ozone air purifier - but nothing works. I'm reluctant to try shampooing it out, because when I've previously used products like that they just leave a different sickening soapy-perfume smell.
I figured if I just waited a while, it would clear up on its own, but I'm running out of patience here. Has anyone got any tricks I should be trying?
What kind of ozone purifier? I bought a small ozone machine on Amazon that works wonders.
I don't know the brand (it's out in the car), but it's a big, room-sized one. This is the first time it's ever failed to knock out an unpleasant smell. God only knows what that moron poured all over the inside of that damned car!
Pull up the carpet and remove it. See if there's anything going on underneath the carpet that he was trying to hide the smell. People don't just try to clean the interior of a car for no reason. If you just bought it, it's possible it could have been a flood car or many other things.
Start with baking soda and sprinkle it all over the carpet, then vacuum it out. Do the same to any foam mats attached to the metal body that may still be in the car.
They were probably heavy smokers. We detailed my ex wifes car to sell and couldn't get the smoke smell out. Finally, we shot a couple of bottles of Febreeze down the ac vent while the ac was on, and it cleared it up.............temporarily.
The new owner called a while later to ask about the horrible smoke smell in the car !
Pull up the carpet and remove it. See if there's anything going on underneath the carpet that he was trying to hide the smell. People don't just try to clean the interior of a car for no reason. If you just bought it, it's possible it could have been a flood car or many other things.
Nah, we're not dumb enough to buy a flood car. We know the history of the vehicle. It's almost showroom condition; you could eat off of any part of the car, even the battery or the engine. Immaculate. Both of the previous owners were clean freaks. And no, it's not trying to cover up any other smell, because that never works. That's the stupid thing about these products - they don't really "cover up" anything; they just try to trick you into not noticing. It's always simple to sniff out whatever it is that was there in the first place, and now you have two things that smell like ****.
And yeah, this guy really is dumb enough to drench the car with this crap for no reason. Even walking past his other family vehicles in the driveway, I could smell it pouring out of the windows. He's from a part of the world where a lot of people seem to be in love with these products for some reason, and apparently believe everyone else loves them too. If you've ever spent much time riding taxis in large cities, you can probably get the picture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katana49
Start with baking soda and sprinkle it all over the carpet, then vacuum it out. Do the same to any foam mats attached to the metal body that may still be in the car.
Yeah, that's what my wants to do too. I've never tried that before - I suppose it's best to dump it all over and leave it a day or so so that it can absorb the volatile compounds, right? Thanks. I'll give that a try.
Damn. Just assumed it would have baked out of there by now.
When I had my truck detailed they put some greasy crap all over my truck. It had a very rubber like smell. Took weeks to get it to go away. In the beginning I would find it hard to breathe in the truck. I didn’t drive it for a few weeks due to that. The smell went away on it’s own
Last edited by Electrician4you; 04-29-2018 at 05:57 PM..
I had a mildew problem one time in my truck. I had read somewhere to use some of that kitty litter deodorizer, poured into 2 knee high stocking, tie at the top. Toss under the drier seat and let it absorb the odor. You might be able to do the same thing with baking soda. It just doesn't have a dedicated deodorizer is all.
the problem with trying to bake the smell out and leaving the windows up is that you actually bake the smell IN, even if you leave the windows cracked open slightly. you have to leave the windows all the way down.
i second the idea of sprinkling some baking soda around the interior and letting it sit for a while. i would also suggest leaving an open box in there as well to maximize the effort. leave it for a day or two before vacuuming out the car.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
