How do I get rid of that old car smell?
- Thread starter SteveD2
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I have bought a few used cars over the years and I usually shampoo the heak out of them several times just to get it real clean even if it is clean already for the most part. Febreez seems to work well on smells but you want to remove it permently so it might take a few good cleanings but it will start to smell good again.
scrub the carpets with a nylon brush and some carpet cleaner, and that should restore a newer car smell. As for what carpet cleaners work best, any general purpose carpet cleaner should work, but prestones foam carpet cleaner works great on stains. Hope this helps!!!!!!!
What exactly is an "old car smell"?
When I think of a cheap motel room I think of stale cigarette odor combined with strong cleaning chemicals. And a waft of someone's take out food they just had delivered.
You should try all the obvious solutions like the ones that have been mentioned. But for odors that have permeated every nook and cranny of your vehicle, the best method of eliminating them is by using an ozone generator. Your better detail shops might have them. Call around.
When I think of a cheap motel room I think of stale cigarette odor combined with strong cleaning chemicals. And a waft of someone's take out food they just had delivered.
You should try all the obvious solutions like the ones that have been mentioned. But for odors that have permeated every nook and cranny of your vehicle, the best method of eliminating them is by using an ozone generator. Your better detail shops might have them. Call around.
I bought a used car cheap, but the guy I bought it from smoked cigars, I used soap and water to wash the inside and rinsed with a weak vinegar solution. I ended up removing the carpets and seats to clean and let them sit in the fresh air for a few days. Still it smelled, but ran really good.
I bought my Olds from someone who was a chain smoker. My fiance was also a smoker and we did the same treatment on her Explorer. Shampooed with Prestone shampoo the carpets, mats and upolstery. Sprayed the headliner and upolstery with an odor remover(as opposed to air freshener) spray that was in the automotive section. It was specifically labled for removing bad odors. Smelled smoke occasionally after that (hot high humidity, days) for a few minutes, for about a year, but never bad. After that it was gone forever.
If you have cloth seats, you will need to clean every square inch of the surface. Same with the carpet. You would be wise to remove the seats to clean underneath them as well. Use a steam cleaner. Cigarette smoke will be removed that way.
Keep in mind that some of the smell is likely spilled soft drinks/coffee soaked into the carpet underpadding. This will turn to mildew/mold, and permeate a musty smell. You could repeatedly flood the carpet with water and suck it out with the steam cleaner, but you may want to consider removing the carpeting entirely and washing it outside of the car. Any sugar left in the carpet will turn to mold later.
Besides cigarette smoke, a common reason that cars smell is because people sweat on fabric seats, and that soaks into the fabric.
Keep in mind that some of the smell is likely spilled soft drinks/coffee soaked into the carpet underpadding. This will turn to mildew/mold, and permeate a musty smell. You could repeatedly flood the carpet with water and suck it out with the steam cleaner, but you may want to consider removing the carpeting entirely and washing it outside of the car. Any sugar left in the carpet will turn to mold later.
Besides cigarette smoke, a common reason that cars smell is because people sweat on fabric seats, and that soaks into the fabric.
I have always used amonia with a 3M disposable mask. I use a strong industrial spray bottle with amonia for the fabric and carpet and head liner. For the dash mild soapy water does the trick. I then use a wet/dry vac and suck all of the ammonia out of the fabrics. Leave the vechile open to dry. Once dry use something like febreeze to control any residual odors until they disapate.
It can take up to 10 weeks for the smell of smoke to totaly disapate unless you agressively clean a smokers car. After 10 weeks any smell that was in the car should have disapated!
P.S. If you have a really good vacum you can bag the seats and vacum the seats like you are vaccum sealing them.
It can take up to 10 weeks for the smell of smoke to totaly disapate unless you agressively clean a smokers car. After 10 weeks any smell that was in the car should have disapated!
P.S. If you have a really good vacum you can bag the seats and vacum the seats like you are vaccum sealing them.
JohnBrowning is right about the amonia, after you clean everything best you can go to the local dollar store and by arisol glass cleaner W/amonia! Check the smell first to see if you like it! Spray it all over inside the vhicle, under seats and under carpet, under dash! Close it up overnight then open it up and dry it out next day! You may have to do this several times, even carry a can around with you! Worked in my PU!!
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Lysol on mold, Fabreez on upholstry. If the car has leather, use a leather conditioner that smells good. You can also put a cloth baggie filled with ground coffee under the seats.
clean under the seats, old old stuff stinks. i have gotten the car to a almost new smell. but it takes time.
alot of the stuff is in the dash and the surrounding materials inside the car
alot of the stuff is in the dash and the surrounding materials inside the car
I do alot of driving. Approx. 60,000 miles a year in my truck. I live down Louisiana and with the high humidity the A/C gets ran alot. I have been fighting a smell from the A/C after it has been used. It seems to appear a day or two after A/C use. I am not sure if some kind of mold can grow in the vents due to the high humidity. I guess I should say I think it is from the A/C vents. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Jason
[ April 13, 2004, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: cumminspuller ]
Jason
[ April 13, 2004, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: cumminspuller ]
Guys Guys guys!! I can't beleive the replies I am seeing here. And this group of people likes to take care of there cars?
If you have a odor problem, the first step is to remove the SOURCE. This may be nicotine in the case of cigarettes, sugar in the case of pop, sugar/protein(milk) in the case of coffee etc... For a proper removal a steam cleaning is the best method. Applying a good degreaser/ odor counteractant first,followed by some moderate agitation, will allow a chance for the active cleaning agents to work. Then extraction with steaming hot water allows you to rinse the fabric thoroughly, removing the odor source while removing the soiling as well,leaving the fabric with no dirt attracting cleaning residues. This soiling often consists of body oils which in turn attract and hold more dirt and odor.
After this cleaning process, wipe down the vinyl surfaces with a good citrus degreaser and a weak ammonia solution. If possible remove dash vent deflectors and try to get into the vent lines as deep as possible. Afterwards spray with a armor all type protector/sealer.
IF odor still is present then the car can be ozoned. Ozone is a strong odor remover and works by oxidizing the offending odor molecules. With this systematic process dead animals/human odors can be removed so more common malodors are definately achievable. A 1-3 day treatment depending on severity will solve all odor problems.
Applying an odor mask like febreeze may make it smell a touch better but the underlying cause is still there and will continue to reappear till bacterially digested.
HTH
Tony
If you have a odor problem, the first step is to remove the SOURCE. This may be nicotine in the case of cigarettes, sugar in the case of pop, sugar/protein(milk) in the case of coffee etc... For a proper removal a steam cleaning is the best method. Applying a good degreaser/ odor counteractant first,followed by some moderate agitation, will allow a chance for the active cleaning agents to work. Then extraction with steaming hot water allows you to rinse the fabric thoroughly, removing the odor source while removing the soiling as well,leaving the fabric with no dirt attracting cleaning residues. This soiling often consists of body oils which in turn attract and hold more dirt and odor.
After this cleaning process, wipe down the vinyl surfaces with a good citrus degreaser and a weak ammonia solution. If possible remove dash vent deflectors and try to get into the vent lines as deep as possible. Afterwards spray with a armor all type protector/sealer.
IF odor still is present then the car can be ozoned. Ozone is a strong odor remover and works by oxidizing the offending odor molecules. With this systematic process dead animals/human odors can be removed so more common malodors are definately achievable. A 1-3 day treatment depending on severity will solve all odor problems.
Applying an odor mask like febreeze may make it smell a touch better but the underlying cause is still there and will continue to reappear till bacterially digested.
HTH
Tony
Tony, good post, it covers about everything except the ususual case where stuff starts growing in the AC system, which the ozone treatment might take care of.
New car smell is a combination of clean (no smell) and primarily outgassing of adhesives, elastomers and other plastics in the car. The inside of a car is healthier once the stonger "new car" smell has dissipated. Clean, however, is always good.
Best smell in a car is no smell.
Where do you get this 'Ozone' stuff at?
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