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I recently bought a used car that had its interior either rain soaked or something else that has left it with a bad smell. So far I have deep cleaned the leather seats, vacuumed and shampooed the carpet, cleaned all other interior surfaces. While it does smell better, it still smells. I want it clean and fragrance free,so I don’t like to use cleaners that just mask the odor. I’m wondering if I’m getting some of this smell from the ventilation system? If so, how to clean it? Thoughts, ideas?
I've taken used coffee grounds (filter and all) and put it on the back floorboard, to let that soak up the smell when I accidentally left my windows down one night during a downpour.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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If it's new enough to have a cabin air filter, change it. Google your year, make and model and "cabin air filter". Yes, there can be lingering smells in the ventilation system ducts. Short of removing and cleaning them, you can try spraying the intake area with Lysol or the equivalent with it running, then run heat through it for a while with the windows open. The worst smells come from carrying around dogs, and it can be difficult to remove. What worked on one for us was to spray all cloth upholstery and carpet with Febreze, then leave all windows open and the car in the sun for several days (locked up at night).
Cabin filter is a good start.
The Lysol is another good tactic.
On some used cars, the carpet was too dirty and stained to fix. I went to dealer and purchased a new factory carpet.
Made the car look and smell as new.
On very old cars the carpet backing was jute. And when that got wet - the smell of mold arose. Today they use foam as backing and that would not smell if got wet.
If you got a used car that previous owner had kids, you could have a brew of soda, hamburger, French fries, candy, dogs, and on and on.
Ozium is a standby odor remover. If that does not get it smelling the way you want it, some detailers have equipment that will reduce odors, or at least claim to.
If you park in a garage, just leaving the windows cracked open will, over time, reduce the smell.
Cabin filter is a good start.
The Lysol is another good tactic.
On some used cars, the carpet was too dirty and stained to fix. I went to dealer and purchased a new factory carpet.
Made the car look and smell as new.
On very old cars the carpet backing was jute. And when that got wet - the smell of mold arose. Today they use foam as backing and that would not smell if got wet.
If you got a used car that previous owner had kids, you could have a brew of soda, hamburger, French fries, candy, dogs, and on and on.
That’s a fair question. I bought car as a small project car, meaning I got it cheap enough that I can sink some $$$ in it. As for the smell, it had a strong “perfume” smell that I attributed to the lady I bought it from. I figured I could get rid of that easily, but when I did I realized that smell was masking something else.When I started tearing into things I found a couple of small canister type deodorizers,which I pitched immediately.
I’ll pick up a cabin filter tomorrow and see how that helps.
Good luck ... We've sold cars (in the Winter when the stank isn't as bad) that had smells ... usually spilled milk or vomit. If it's not in the ductwork you may have to replace any soft materials in the interior.
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