neutralise car smell in vehicle

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › neutralise car smell in vehicle

Aaroona

3193 posts

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#183662 25-Oct-2015 20:23

I bought my car a couple of years ago, and it has had a distinct smell since the moment I first drove it.

It's not an unpleasant smell, but can become quite strong if I'm in the car for a long period of time.

I remember a while back, there used to be a product called Airilizer by MotorUp. It essentially gas bombed your cars cabin, for 30 odd minutes.
Unfortunately it doesn't appear that this product is available anymore within NZ. Are there any other products that can be recommended?

EDIT: Also worth mentioning, I'm not looking at covering up a smell with a smell - so no 'Pine' tree smelly things!

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17104 posts

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#1413655 25-Oct-2015 20:33

The smell is usually caused by release of gasses from various materials as they stabilise after manufacture.

Venting the vehicle when you are not using it is the best option. Cracking the windows at night is a good option, maybe some kind of window vent for the summer.

Ie; think of it as a gas that will build up over time and increase of production with temperature.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_car_smell

Talkiet

4792 posts

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#1413679 25-Oct-2015 20:47

http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/online-store/products/Meguiar-s-Air-Re-Fresher-57g.aspx?pid=357922#Recommendations

ALso, replace your cabin air filter.

I used the above product recently and it seems to have cleared up a subtle smoke smell my car had (direct import from Japan - no chance to check it out before seeing it)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

RUKI

1402 posts

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#1413700 25-Oct-2015 21:28

Check this: if there were a coolant leakage (even before you bought it) - you may have not noticed that it is still under the rubberized carpet. Suggest you check that . To do that you would need to dismantle a bit. We had that experience in the past with two cars - coolant leaked while we were owners and in both cases it was the heater which leaked. We changed the heater radiator but had to remove all seats, remove carpet, wash and dry the carper from the other side.

If it was not the smell inside - we may have not noticed ....

SepticSceptic

2186 posts

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#1414672 27-Oct-2015 14:05

Spilt milk / icecream / yoghurt ?

That lingers for years!

Perhaps a professional internal steam clean and de-odouriser ?

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1414688 27-Oct-2015 14:23

Often smells come out of the ventilation system. Dealers can hide the smell of smelly vehicle, with deodorizers, which is similar to what real estate agents do to musty smelling houses. I actually ended up returning a car to a dealer for a refund after buying a car that had an offensive smell (think vomit and wet dog), even after they got professional cleaners in to try and remedy it. So smells are very difficult to get rid of, and will often return after any deodorizer has worn off. It was a hard process to return it, and all the dealers had a cold and said they couldn't smell anything. Unless you can find the source, anything you do will only hide the smell.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#1414692 27-Oct-2015 14:28

Can you describe the smell? It might help pinpoint the cause (and solution). Is it a Sweet smell? Plastic smell? Smoke smell? Burning smell?

vexxxboy

4243 posts

Uber Geek

#1414714 27-Oct-2015 14:49

look for a product called Nilodor, it's a deodoriser and can be found in supermarkets , not cheap, $7-$8 for 100ml but it goes a long way and it neutralizes smells , also use some febreze on the car seats and the smell will vanish.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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kiwitrc

4123 posts

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#1414731 27-Oct-2015 15:01

vexxxboy: look for a product called Nilodor, it's a deodoriser and can be found in supermarkets , not cheap, $7-$8 for 100ml but it goes a long way and it neutralizes smells , also use some febreze on the car seats and the smell will vanish.

I bought a huge leather couch to chuck in the garage for the 2 dogs to sleep on as it takes up less horizontal room than dog beds. Trouble is when I picked it up it was residing in the house of many bogans and stunk of smoke and bogan. I left it outside in the rain last week, and then in the sun all weekend, seems better and the dogs are not arguing over Holden and Ford so much, but this might be a solution. Do you reckon it would work in this instance? Is it just a spray on and leave type application?

toyonut

1508 posts

Uber Geek

#1414850 27-Oct-2015 16:23

I have had good results with Meguires Odor eliminator in a previous car and in one of my brothers cars which smelt very stubbornly of wet dog and ciggies.
http://www.meguiars.co.nz/G2310/. Again, not cheap but seems to work well, Supercheap have it on sale too. I think you can also get a smaller bottle of it if you don't need as much. You have to make sure to get it in hard to reach places like up under the dash, under seats and on all carpets etc.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

http://www.vultr.com/?ref=7033587-3B

vexxxboy

4243 posts

Uber Geek

#1415124 27-Oct-2015 22:37

kiwitrc:
vexxxboy: look for a product called Nilodor, it's a deodoriser and can be found in supermarkets , not cheap, $7-$8 for 100ml but it goes a long way and it neutralizes smells , also use some febreze on the car seats and the smell will vanish.

I bought a huge leather couch to chuck in the garage for the 2 dogs to sleep on as it takes up less horizontal room than dog beds. Trouble is when I picked it up it was residing in the house of many bogans and stunk of smoke and bogan. I left it outside in the rain last week, and then in the sun all weekend, seems better and the dogs are not arguing over Holden and Ford so much, but this might be a solution. Do you reckon it would work in this instance? Is it just a spray on and leave type application?

Febreze is about the only product i have used that actually does what it advertises it will. It got rid of the smell from spilt milk on my back seat, 2 sprays a day for a 2-3 days and the smell was gone.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

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#1415165 28-Oct-2015 06:11

vexxxboy:
kiwitrc:
vexxxboy: look for a product called Nilodor, it's a deodoriser and can be found in supermarkets , not cheap, $7-$8 for 100ml but it goes a long way and it neutralizes smells , also use some febreze on the car seats and the smell will vanish.

I bought a huge leather couch to chuck in the garage for the 2 dogs to sleep on as it takes up less horizontal room than dog beds. Trouble is when I picked it up it was residing in the house of many bogans and stunk of smoke and bogan. I left it outside in the rain last week, and then in the sun all weekend, seems better and the dogs are not arguing over Holden and Ford so much, but this might be a solution. Do you reckon it would work in this instance? Is it just a spray on and leave type application?

Febreze is about the only product i have used that actually does what it advertises it will. It got rid of the smell from spilt milk on my back seat, 2 sprays a day for a 2-3 days and the smell was gone.

Thanks, found a product called Nilotron (which is made by Nilodor) at the local super market, gave the couch a couple of coats last night so will see how it goes.

BTR

1527 posts

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#1415307 28-Oct-2015 10:19

I remember reading a story of a guy who bought some fish and accidentally left it in the car before heading off for a few weeks on a trip with his car parked in the garage, he came back to his back seat crawling and and putrid smell.

The insurance company sent the car which happened to be a new falcon to Ford for repair, they replaced the carpet, roof lining, seats and door trims and still could't get rid of the smell. In the end it was written off and he got a new car.

mdooher

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#1415355 28-Oct-2015 11:05

I remember that Mitsubishi cars in particular had a funny sort of stale "car smell". It was caused by the cheap carpet they used. It was not possible to fix. I'm talking late eighties and early 90s. I have no idea what the new ones are like.

Matthew

mdooher

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#1415358 28-Oct-2015 11:10

BTR: I remember reading a story of a guy who bought some fish and accidentally left it in the car before heading off for a few weeks on a trip with his car parked in the garage, he came back to his back seat crawling and and putrid smell.

The insurance company sent the car which happened to be a new falcon to Ford for repair, they replaced the carpet, roof lining, seats and door trims and still could't get rid of the smell. In the end it was written off and he got a new car.

When I was eighteen I left an octopus in the boot of my mother's Allegro. I then went on a 6 week holiday to England. The car didn't get used much and I believe she found it in week 4....

Matthew

kiwitrc

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#1415361 28-Oct-2015 11:14

mdooher:
BTR: I remember reading a story of a guy who bought some fish and accidentally left it in the car before heading off for a few weeks on a trip with his car parked in the garage, he came back to his back seat crawling and and putrid smell.

The insurance company sent the car which happened to be a new falcon to Ford for repair, they replaced the carpet, roof lining, seats and door trims and still could't get rid of the smell. In the end it was written off and he got a new car.

When I was eighteen I left an octopus in the boot of my mother's Allegro. I then went on a 6 week holiday to England. The car didn't get used much and I believe she found it in week 4....

A dead rotting octopus would probably add value to an Allegro :)

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