Help my car stinks inside!

[bronsin]

My wife’s car is older than mine and once a while goes in the shop so she has to drive my Yaris. But she doesn’t like it because it smells pretty bad in there. I’d like people to suggest air fresheners that work the best. :iono:

Thanks!

PS I unblocked The AC drain recently so that’s not the problem

[WeeYari]

Somebody once started a thread about sprinkling some Downy Unstoppables on the dirty side of the cabin filter. Started a huge debate about the merits of subjecting the cabin air to whatever chemicals may or may not be in those freshener beads. Powerful air freshener in any case.

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[ern-diz]

Somebody once started a thread about sprinkling some Downy Unstoppables on the dirty side of the cabin filter. Started a huge debate about the merits of subjecting the cabin air to whatever chemicals may or may not be in those freshener beads. Powerful air freshener in any case.

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Ha! I remember that :biggrin:

[hondajt]

Our hatch was leaking and the rear floor was getting wet and moldy, stunk like crazy. Fixed it and cleaned the carpet and it's much better now

[B.B._07]

If you had a problem with the AC drain getting the carpet wet I'd suggest pulling up the carpet in a couple spots to let it dry out better. The sound insulation under the carpet absorbs water like a sponge and can still be wet even after the carpet feels dry from the top. You can use a small space heater to speed things up.

[WeeYari]

Stop eating bean burritos in the car! ;)

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[06YarisRS]

Febreze. Used it on many stinky, mouldy old cars. A light dusting on all fabrics and carpet. Of course, nothing beats a good evac cleaning.

[tmontague]

Use an ozone machine, using phthalates that are unregulated from a health standpoint to cover up a smell is equivalent to turning up the radio to drown out the noise of a flat tire...

[06YarisRS]

Use an ozone machine, using phthalates that are unregulated from a health standpoint to cover up a smell is equivalent to turning up the radio to drown out the noise of a flat tire...

I assume that Febreze contains phthalates? If so, nix that then.

A little research yields:

1) Febreze and other chemical air fresheners do not remove the odor molecules-they simply cover them up. The odor molecules are still there, you just can’t detect them anymore. So after spraying the product, you’re not only inhaling the odor molecules, but the air freshener chemicals as well.
2) Febreze contains chemicals linked to cancer.
3) Febreze contains chemicals linked to hormone disruption and developmental problems.
4) Febreze contains chemicals linked to neurotoxicity, which means the chemicals are poisonous to the nerves or nerve cells.
5) Febreze contains chemicals that irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs.
6) Febreze contains chemicals linked to allergies and asthma.
7) Febreze doesn’t disclose any of these potentially harmful ingredients, so if it weren’t for studies like these by the EWG and the NRDC, we would have no idea what we were sniffing.

Enlightening.

[bronsin]

Maybe it’s not so bad if it smells ....:eek:

[atomic_hoji]

I've found baking soda and vinegar (not together, while fun in a science project I imagine a terrible mess in the upholstery... :biggrin:) both remove smells pretty well.

I've dusted baking soda on the seats and let sit overnight, then vacuumed up next day, helps. As well, leaving a refrigerator box open in the car - stick in in the center console or somewhere - for a week. With spreading on the seats, just make sure there's more moisture or it'll become clumpy and more of a pain to vacuum up.

Using vinegar I left a couple of small bowls in the footwells and on the center console for a few days - I was able to not use the vehicle for a few days at a time as it wasn't my daily driver... Smelled kind of like vinegar the first day I used it, but cleared the worst of the smell out. That was for cigarette smoke, which cause me horrible irritation - made the truck go from "man, I can't stand this thing, why did I pay money for this" to usable. :thumsbup:

-- Adam

[mirapatec]

Oddly enough, if you put some laundry fabric static control sheets under the front seats, this may help your vehicle smell better.

[nortonfb]

Bought a car that sat in a field for 18 months. The owner had died and his brother parked it out of the way.
It was during the winter, it was so bad I was gagging with the window open. All types of critters had made homes in the engine compartment, chassis
and the thing reeked. First everything was power washed on the exterior including under body. Next Lysol spray in all the vents. I found a mouse carcass in the cabin air filter,
Also sprayed the carpeting with Lysol. Took a few days of spraying and I left a box of baking soda on the front seat for a few days. After a week, it was odor free except for really hot, muggy days.. That eventually went away.

[dogsridewith]

Gotta observe down to metal in the rear. The tail-light gaskets were leaking in mine, and the taillights are pulled to the body by two screws where there need to be at least three.

Is it dry under the spare tire?

[DarkShadowFox]

well, remove the AC filter and put a new one in. scrub the seats and mist down with a scented spray, chemical guys works the best. then for your airfreshender a tree or a glade clip is really all you need.

[2008RedHatch]

AC drain was clogged and had some moisture dripping. Dealer got it fixed for $75, not bad price I think. Was worried it was worse, but found this site and asked them to check drain.

Passenger floor is now dry, no odors.

[dogsridewith]

Recent TV news that people in houses using disinfectants had more of a particular gut microbe and weighed more.

[bairjo]

https://youtu.be/bxbEkYo43tE