So... your car stinks? Did a kid spill milk, dog have an accident or did you buy a used car that needs some attention to make liveable? These tips and suggestions go over your options and also show you how.
1. With any car I detail the immediate step to do is always remove any trash, debris or objects from the car. This might be the actual issue and most of the time is. Don't forget to inspect under seats, floormats and any place items can fall.
2. Vacuum your carpets regularly of any dirt and crumbs. I have always said that vacuuming gives you 80% results with 20% of the work in every detail. With free vacuums at drive thru car washes, there is no excuse to keeping up with your vehicles cleanliness.
3. Add some fabric softener sheets under your seats where the rear air vents are located. Simple, immediate and also smell absorbing to help with smells and odors.
4. Tree and vent stick air fresheners can be found everywhere and do actually work. The problem is they have a life they last and if you have an issue lingering in the carpets or seats, you are only masking the issue.
5. Odor eliminator gels are another option and sit in your cup holder or under the seat. These things are very similar to dehumidifier pellets you use in a cigar humidifier and release odor eliminator scents and reabsorb other smells over time.
6. If your carpets are smelly you can try to even dump a bunch of fresh dry coffee on the carpets and spread evenly and let sit overnight before vacuuming up. The caution is to make sure the carpets are 100% dry and and not wet because clean can be a pain along with potentially dying the carpet if it is a light color.
7. Adding to the above option, you can do the same with kitty litter and baking soda to absorb smells.
8. If you want a more long term odor removal process, check out odor bombs. Auto parts stores carry these and they are a fogger type process where you leave you AC on recirculate and windows up while the can empties the aerosal into the air. This "fog" gets through the air vents and all cracks and crevices where smells and odors are hiding.
9. Another "fog" type option that is more intense is getting your car ozone'd. These machines can be found online for ~$100 and are the same process as the fogger odor bombs in tip 8. Be careful though and let the car air out extensively because ozone will burn your lungs if breathed in. Don't neglect this option due to this because after letting the car air out, you only need 15 minutes before it has broken down the molecule and bonded with odors. Another benefit is ozone will actually kill mold/bacteria/etc due to how the molecular bond breaks down.
10. Our last step is something I'm sure you all have done, got done or seen in my videos and that is carpet extraction. This is the best way to remove any spills or stains in your carpet or seats and gets to the root of the issue without masking the problem.
I hope these tips were helpful in your odor elimation journey and be sure to share this post with a friend!
See you all in the next post!
James Stauffer
Stauffer Garage