smelly car

[fenrisx]

You know.. it was bad enough when I forgot I had all my windows + sunroof open one summer when we had a crazy downpour. My truck smell all summer long...

That was a few years ago, and since that summer it has been fine. Fast forward to this winter... I bought some new rubber mats from Target to hopefully catch the snow as it melts because my old rubber mats ripped in a few places. Well, turns out that didn't fare to well because my carpets stayed wet through the winter.

Now I'm paying for that because the smell has returned! I wish I Had money to buy new padding, carpet, and some GOOD mats!

I don't see how people in the snowy areas survive without a GOOD set of mats.

[CJM]

Ozium or some renuzit spray should work. Might have to lysol the stuff first if it has mildew in it tho. Id also recommend you carpet shampoo everything, the entire carpet does come out rather easy.

[fenrisx]

Yeah... when this happened the first time (due to the rain as mentioned above) I took the carpets out... used an entire can of Lysol disinfectant spray, entire can of Oust disinfectant spray, and even used some Febreeze. Plus I used my mom's carpet cleaner to clean the carpets. Then I left the carpet out in the lovely Georgia summer sunshine to dry it. It still smelled.

Now, I don't have access to a carpet cleaner.. but maybe I'll pull the carpets out one day and spray the down with some stuff.

[Obi..]

Screw the febreeze, oust crap, spot shot all the way, then once that's dried out take your rig out and drive it until everything's warmed up and the smell's just starting to creep b/c of any evaporation going on, turn on the heater and get the cabin nice and warm, then park it with all the windows rolled up and a 1/2 gallon bowl of vinegar sitting on the floorboards and let it sit for two days. Then repeat it a couple of times.



Yes your rig will smell like vinegar, but much like smoke smell it'll dissipate away faster and the vinegar spirits (fumes) kill off the other smell(s).

[Seanz0rz]

http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.ph...6&topic=9466.0

couple of tablespoons of bleach in a 1 quart spray bottle worked great for me. ive had no smell since then.

you really want to pull the carpet and do it. id suggest ditching the padding as well, since its so thick and porous, it catches everything and soaks it up. i know its alot of work to pull the seats, trim, center console, etc. but its worth it to get rid of that smell. its not only annoying but it can make you very very sick.

[CJM]

The thing about renuzit and ozium is they dont mask the odor like febreeze, they kill the odor.

[slosurfer]

baking soda?

[fenrisx]

http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.ph...6&topic=9466.0

couple of tablespoons of bleach in a 1 quart spray bottle worked great for me. ive had no smell since then.

you really want to pull the carpet and do it. id suggest ditching the padding as well, since its so thick and porous, it catches everything and soaks it up. i know its alot of work to pull the seats, trim, center console, etc. but its worth it to get rid of that smell. its not only annoying but it can make you very very sick.

I don't mind pulling everything. I usually pull the seats, and part of the trim, when I clean the truck out. I DO mind having to replacing the padding though... especially if I end up with the same problem next winter! Oh well..

[Seanz0rz]

in the crv, i replaced the padding with some automotive carpet scraps i had left over from a project (any FLAPS should have this carpet, and maybe the padding?). i fixed the problem with the water though, and even in the winter when it rains, it usually drys out in a couple of days. this winter i will get some good deep rubber floor mats.

make sure you dont have any leaks. i have a couple in my 4runner up on the firewall where ive put wires through that didnt get sealed all the way. and then generally try to keep the carpet as dry as possible.

[fenrisx]

Yeah, I definitely need to check for leaks. I haven't ran anything through the firewall, but that doesn't mean water isn't creeping in from somewhere.